235 
.M81 
Copy 1 



V •<! 



In compliance with Jt. Res. No. 4, S.— 6,000 copies ordered printed. 

_ 

/ 



EXPERIMENTS 



AMBER CANE 



ENSILAGE OF FODDERS, 



EXPERIMENTAL FARM, 



MADISON, WIS., i88i. 




S.J^./M^^iL^ ^^o 



HvAiUn 




MADISON, WIS.: 
DAVID ATWOOD, 8TATB PBINTSK. 

1882. 



In.compliance with Jt. Res. No. 4, S.— 5,000 copies ordered printed. 



EXPERIMENTS 



IN 



AMBER CANE 



ENSILAGE OF FODDERS, 



AT THE 



EXPERIMENTAL FARM, 



MADISON, WIS., 1881. 




MADISON, WIS.: 

OAYID ATWOOD, STATE PSINTXS. 

1883. 



REPORT 



To His Excellency, J. M. Eusk, Governor: 

In conformity to chapter 211 of the general laws of 1881, I 
herewith present a report of the experiments in amber cane and 
ensilage of fodders, conducted upon the university experimental 
farm during the past season. 

Most fortunately, Mr. Magnug Swenson was secured as chemist 
in these experiments, and too much credit cannot be given him 
for his untiring zeal in the difficult task to which he was assigned. 
Such an experiment as securing sugar from amber cane in any- 
thing like a practical way is a most difficult undertaking. Every 
step in the process is along an unknown road, and the many fail- 
ures in past years show that scores of persons who thought they 
were certain of success, only attained defeat. 

Fortunately Mr. Swenson understands machinery as well as 
chemistry, and was enabled to design and superintend the con- 
struction of the machinery used. By this means a great saving 
was effected in the cost of machinery needed. Had it been other- 
wise, the funds would not have been sufficient for the work. 

I present Mr. Swenson's report as handed to me, believing that 
in it, those intei'ested in amber cane will find information that 
cannot but prove of great value to them. The fact that good 
marketable sugar can be obtained from amber cane at the rate of 
1,000 pounds to the acre, by methods even more practicable when 
used on a large scale than in the present case, is a cause for grati- 
fication, I think. 

It is proposed to distribute samples of syrup and sugar obtained 
in the experiments, in such a way that they can be seen at all the 
agricultural gatherings held this winter, throughout the state. 



Having experimented but a single season, it is needless to say 
that much remains to be done yet, and many problems are still 
awaiting solution. 

In addition to the experiments, I have tried to learn the con- 
dition of the industry throughout the state and have taken steps 
to familiarize our farmers with what we are trying to do. 

In April last a twelve-page circular relative to amber cane was 
prepared and 3,000 copies Jistributed. 

This fall 1,500 copies of a circular letter, making inquiries re- 
garding the cane crop, were prepared and sent to all whom I 
thought could aid us. In answer to these circulars I have replies 
from 180 manufacturers of amber cane syrup, who report having 
made about 850,000 gallons of syrup this year. A list of these 
manufacturers, together with amount of syrup made by each, is 
herewith given. Other valuable information from these reports 
is given in its proper place. 

In regard to the second experiment, the ensilage of fodders, 
permit me to say that a silo was built and filled last summer, and 
experiments are now in progress to determine the value of the en- 
silage. So far the indications are very favorable, but it is too 
soon to make any definite statements. As complete a report as 
possible is herewith presented. It is planned that Mr. Swensoa 
investigate the subject, from the chemical side, this winter, and 
upon this point much remains yet to be known. 

As required by the act above named, I have made a detailed 
statement of the moneys expended up to the present. It will be 
seen that we have not yet expended the sum granted. 
Most respectfully submitted, 

W. A. HENRY, 
Prof. Agriculture^ University of Wisconsin. 

Experimental Farm, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 
Wis., December 81, 1881. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH SORGHUM CANES. 
By Magnus Swenson. 
The cbief object of the experiments conducted during the past 
season has been to demonstrate the practicability of making 
sugar from cane grown in this state. For this reason the work 
has been carried on in a thoroughly practical manner. My re- 
sults are not based on theory ; they do not show what might be 
obtained, but what has actually been done. The amount of 
sugar obtained is not deduced from the amount present in the 
cane or syrup, but represents what has actually been crystallized 
and separated as sugar. 

MACHINERY. 

The apparatus used consisted of one horizontal mill, made by 
the Madison Manufacturing Company ; one ten horse-power steam 
boiler ; one defecator of galvanized sheet iron, 3 feet high, 2.5 
feet in diameter, and heated by a steam coil, made of 1-inch gas 
pipe ; two galvanized iron evaporating pans, the larger 6 feet 
long, 3 feet wide, 1 foot deep ; the smaller 4 feet long, 2 feet wide, 
8 inches deep, both heated by steam coils ; one globular vacuum 
pan 30 inches in diameter ; one wet air pump for exhausting the 
vacuum pan ; one centrifugal machine for separating the sugar 
from the syrup, 1^ feet in diameter, and 4 inches deep ; one small 
steam pump for feeding the boiler, and running the vacuum pan 
and centrifugal machine. 

CANE SUGAR AND GLUCOSE. 

Before passing on to the actual experiments, a few pages will 
be devoted to the general properties of cane sugar, and the sub- 
stances 03curring with it in the cane juice. The average cane 
contains about 85 per cent, of juice and 15 per cent, of dry 
bagasse. The juice from the average cane obtained on the farm 
consisted of 9.5 per cent, cane sugar, 3.2 per cent, glucose, 2.3 
per cent, organic acid and vegetable matter, and 8.5 per cent 
water. Cane sugar is a compound substance composed of 12 parts 
carbon, 22 parts hydrogen, 11 parts oxygen; or since 1 part 



oxygen and 2 parts hydrogen form water, we may consider cane 
sugar to be made up of 12 parts carbon and 11 parts water. 

Glucose, or grape sugar as it is also called, is composed of 12 
parts carbon, 24 parts of hydrogen, 12 parts of oxygen, or 12 
parts carbon and 12 parts water. The only difference between 
the two is 1 part of water. If a solution of cane sugar in water 
is heated with a small quantity of almost any acid, it takes up 
one more part of water, and thus becomes changed to glucose. 
Almost the same thing takes place when a solution of cane sugar 
is acted upon by a ferment, such as yeast, or even by simply 
heating for some time, large quantities of the crystallizable cane 
sugar are changed. The one important thing in the boiling down 
of cane juice is to guard against this change. As seen before, 
the destruction of cane sugar may be induced in three different 
ways : 1st. By the presence of an acid. 2d. By the presence of 
a ferment. 3d. By high and prolonged heat. We will discuss 
them in order. 

PRESENCE OF AN ACID. 

All cane juice contains a considerable proportion of free or- 
ganic acids. If, therefore, the juice be boiled down without first 
neutralizing these acids, a large part of the cane sugar will be 
changed into glucose. The amount of cane sugar destroyed may 
be seen from the following experiment : Six hundred pounds 
juice, containing 9.96 per cent, cane sugar and 3.45 per cent.- glu- 
cose, was taken directly from the mill and boiled down to syrup. 
The syrup was found to contain 22.4 per cent, cane sugar and 
56.3 per cent, glucose. If no inversion had taken place, the 
syrup should have contained 58.3 per cent, cane sugar ; so we see 
that 61.6 per cent, of all the cane sugar originally in the juice 
had been changed into glucose. Glucose has only one-third the 
sweetening power of cane sugar, and its presence prevents, to a 
large extent, the crystallization of cane sugar. The light-colored, 
putty-like deposit in amber syrup, which is often mistaken for 
cane sugar, is glucose. 

USE OF LIME. 

If lime is added to the juice it will combine with and neutral- 
ize the acid, and this union of the lime and acid forms a new 




substance, which becomes, to a large extent, insoluble, and is re- 
moved with the scum, what remains in the solution having no 
effect whatever on the cane sugar. But here we meet with 
another difficulty. If more lime than is necessary to neutralize 
the acid has been added, although the excess has no effect what- 
ever on the cane sugar, it will at once begin to decompose the 
glucose, changing it into a series of very dark and bitter products, 
which will impart a dark color, and a bitter, burnt taste to the 
syrup. Fortunately we are in the possession of a very simple 
test which tells when lime enough has been added. If a piece of 
blue litmus paper is dipped into water containing a small quantity 
of acid, it at once turns red ; and if a piece of red litmus paper 
is dipped into water made slightly alkaline by the addition of a 
little lime water, it at once turns blue. If, now, to a portion of 
the acidified water we add gradually some lime water, we will 
soon arrive at a point when the solution will have no effect on 
the color of either red or blue litmus ; in other words, it is 
neither alkaline nor acid, but neutral. This will be treated of 
again under the head of defecation. 

FERMENTATION. 

The next thing which tends to destroy the cane sugar is fer- 
mentation. This process begins almost immediately after the 
juice leaves the mill, and when the weather is warm large quan- 
tities of sugar are lost in this way. Fermentation is at once 
arrested by heating the juice to near the boiling point. Cane 
juice should therefore never be allowed to remain standing any 
length of time, but should be defecated as soon as possible after 
coming from the mill. 

HIGH TEMPERATURE. 

High and prolonged heat is ^yery destructive to crystallizable 
cane sugar. At first the temperature will not vary much from 
that of boiling water, or 212*^ F., but as it becomes more and 
more concentrated the boiling point gradually rises, until, when the 
syrup is thick enough for sugar making, the boiling point is from 
232° to 23i°. The destruction of sugar takes place long before 
this point is reached. To 'get the best results the syrup should 
not be boiled in an open pan after it reaches a density of 20'^ B., 



but should then be transferred to the vacuum pan. During the 
first part of the boiling in this pan the temperature should not 
exceed 170° R, and when the syrup becomes denser a more com- 
plete vacuum should be maintained so as to boil it about 140** F.; 
in fact, the lower the temperature the better. 

The varieties of cane raised on the farm during the past season 
were confined to the Early Amber, Early Orange and Honduras. 
Of these the Early Amber is unquestionably the best for sugar 
making, and our experiments were confined largely to this variety. 
The total amount of juice in this cane is about 85 per cent, of 
the total weight of the stalks, and the juice contained 9.20 per 
cent cane sugar and 3.4 per cent, glucose. This content of sugar 
represents the average of not less than 200 pounds of stalks 
stripped and topped, the greater part of which were lodged. 
Moreover, the land on which this cane was grown was quite low, 
and the soil a cold, clay loam, not well adapted for cane growing. 
Taking these facts in connection with the bad season, it must be 
looked upon as below the average yield. 

DEVELOPMENT. 

The development of the Early Amber cane raised on this farm 
may to some extent be seen from the following analyses, which 
have been made by me during the summer and fall : 



August 10 ... . 
August 20 ... . 
September 6 . . 
September 14 . 
September 17 . 
September 20 . 
September 22 . 
September 29 ' 
September 29 ' 
September 29 ' 
October 3 



3 Cane sugar.. 

( Glucose 

j Cane sugar.. 

} Glucose 

j Cane sugar. . 

I Glucose 

] Cane sugar. . 

I Glucose 

j Cane sugar.. 

] Glucose 

j Cane sugar. . 

( Glucose 

j Cane sugar. . 
j Glucose . . . . 
j Cane sugar. . 

\ Glucose 

j Cane sugar.. 

I Glucose 

( Cane sugar.. 

} Glucose 

] Cane sugar. . 
I Glucose. . . . 



3.00 

4.50 
8.20 
5.10 
9.22 



20 

96 

45 

86 

33 

10.03 

3.23 

11.05 

2.60 

8.59 

3.50 

8.60 

3.50 

8.61 

3.44 

12.67 

2.43 



> This cane wm lodged by atorm. 



From these we see that the cane sugar gradually and rapidly 
increased, while the glucose slowly decreased, from the time of 
flowering to the maturity of the seed. During the latter part of 
September, most of the cane was lodged by a very violent wind 
and rain storm. Tiae juice from the stalks that were lodged was 
charged with a red coloring matter, the inside of the entire stalk 
being in many cases of a bright red color. Several of the stalks 
contained but a small portion of red coloring matter, but instead 
had a peculiar yellow and watery appearance, and quite a disa- 
greeable taste. The juices from these contained on an average 
only 8 per cent, sugar, and 4.8 percent, glucose. 

EFFECT OF LEAVING CANE CUT IN TEE FIELD. 

A number of stalks still in good condition, the juice of which 
contained 9.50 cane, sugar and 3.25 glucose, were cut and left in 
the field ten days, during almost constant rain. At the end of the 
ten days the juice contained 5.98 cane sugar and 6.15 glucose. 
Some Early Orange cane was also cut September 20, when the 
juice contained 10.50 cane sugar and 4.95 glucose, and was left in 
the field till November 2, when the juice contained 13.80 glucose, 
while not a trace of cane sugar was present. These experiments 
show conclusively that if cane is cut orginjured and left exposed 
to rain, the destruction of cane sugar goes on very rapidly, being 
in time entirely changed into glucose. The rapidity of the 
change depends, of course, in great degree on the weather. 



10 



EFFECT OF LEAVING CANE CUT, UNDER SHELTER. 

In order to ascertain the effect of leaving cane under cover, 
two tons of Early Amber cane were cut, the juice containing 10.02 
per cent, of cane sugar and 3.23 per cent, of glucose. One-half 
was topped and stripped and both lots were placed on the floor of 
the baro. The change taking place may be seen from the follow- 
ing table: 



September 20 

The cane freshly cut 

October 4. 
After two weeks: 

(Stripped) 

(Unstripped) 

October 19. 
After four weeks : 

(Stripped) 

(Unstripped) 

November 2. 
After 6 weeks : 

(Stripped) 

December 20. 
After 13 weeks: 

(Stripped) 



3.23 



6.21 
6.00 



3.41 
3.74 



3.74 



6.80 



To judge by the table the cane changes very slowly, but in 
reality the loss of sugar is quite rapid. If no loss of sugar took 
place, the juice would of course become richer in sugar, on ac- 
count of the evaporation of part of the water. In reality this is 
not the case. The cane sugar becomes gradually changed to glu- 
cose, which in turn is destroyed by fermentation. In this way 
the juice may become even richer in sugar, but the quantity of 
juice is greatly diminished. The juice becomes also very acid. The 
effect produced by shocking the cane in the field was tried, with 
very unsatisfactory results, the cine sugar being destroyed very 
rapidly. 



11 



EFFECT OF LEAVING CANE STRIPPED IN THE FIELD. 

One part of a patch of Minnesota Early Amber cane was 
stripped of leaves and left standing in the field from September 
15 to September 22. It was then cut, and the juice, together with 
some that had not been stripped, was analyzed, with the following 
result : 



I O 




Cane stripped for one week ,, 11.05 3.25 

Same cane not stripped 13.98 2.78 



The diminution of sugar is undoubtedly due to the fact that 
the latent leaf buds found under each leaf begin to develop into 
new leaves. These new leaves are formed partly at the expense 
of the sugar in the cane. 

DEFECATION. 

The juice after it leaves the mill has a more or less green color, 
due to the presence of large quantities of chlorophyl and other 
vegetable substances, which must be removed. This process is 
known as defecation. The defecator, or the vessel in which this 
operation is conducted, may be of wood. Copper is perhaps the 
best material, but is much more expensive. The vessel should 
be furnished with a steam coil, with sufficient capacity to heat the 
juice to the boiling point, in a short time. As soon as the juice 
is expressed it should be removed to the defecator, where it should 
be heated at once to about 175° F., or just about hot enough to 
enable h, man to hold his hand in the juice without being scalded. 
Milk of lime, freed from all coarse particles by straining, should 
then be added until a slip of red litmus paper becomes changed 
to a faint purple when dipped into the juice. The lime should be 
added in small portions, the jaice being vigorously stirred with a 
paddle after each addition. When the right quantity has been 
added, the juice must be heated as quickly as possible. A thick 
green scum will soon come to the surface. When the boiling 



12 

point is reached, — which is shown by the swelling and breaking 
up of the scum, — the heat should be stopped and the juice left 
quiet for about five minutes. The scum will then be quite hard, 
and may be easily removed from the surface of the clear liquid. 
Much will depend on a good defecation. If the defecation has 
been properly conducted, the liquid will be clear, free from par- 
ticles, and of a pale yellow color. If the S3um is of a light color 
and thin, while the liquid below is opaque and has a greenish 
color, it shows that too little lime has been added ; while if the 
juice is very dark, too much lime has been used. Much nicety of 
judgment is required to make a good defecation, which can onlj 
be obtained by experience. 

USE OF SULPHUROUS ACID. 

The clear juice from the defecator is now tolerably pure, most 
of the impurities having been eliminated. It contains, however^ 
considerable lime, which if allowed tD remain will give us a dark 
syrup, and if present in sufficient quantities will impart a more or 
less bitter taste to the syrup. To avoid this we must neutralize 
the lime, just as before we neutralized the acid. For this purpose 
sulphurous acid is much us3d. Tbis acid may be added to the 
juice in the defecator after removing the scum, or it may be added 
to the juice in the evaporating pan. A sufficient quantity should 
be added to give to the juice a distinct acid reaction, or until a 
slip of blue litmus paper, dipped into the juice, is reddened. To 
accomplish the same result, many preparations have been sold to- 
the farmers and other syrup manufacturers by agents and peddlers. 
I would here advise every one to leave all such preparations alone. 
Most of them are either harmful or good for nothing, while others 
are but modifications of the methods which I have des3ribed and 
for which the buyer pays an exorbitant price. As long as I 
remain at the university inquiries as to any method will be an- 
swered. Before closing this report we will des3ribe methods by 
which sulphurous acid may be made at syrup works. 

BOILING TO SYRUP. 

The juice should be boiled down as rapidly as possible, the 
scum which comes to the surface being skimmed off. If con- 



13 



<3ucted entirely in an open train, it should be concentrated till it 
boils at about 234° F., whicb corresponds to about 45° B. If a 
vacuum pan is used, the syrup should be transferred to it when 
it has a density of about 20° B. It should then be concentrated 
to about 44° B , at as low a temperature and as quickly as pos- 
sible. If the syrup is made too thick, the crystals of sugar will 
be small and difficqlt to separate; while if to:> thin the crystalli- 
zation will tike place very slowly. After the syrup has been 
boiled down to the proper density, it should be placed in a room 
where the temperature may bs maintained at about 90° F. to 
crystallize. The crystallization usually begins in a few hours, 
and in live or six days the sugar may be separated. The syrup 
may be boiled down a second time, and a secDud crop of crystals 
equal to about one-half the quantity of the first may be obtained 
in a couple of weeks. A good yield of sugar may be obtained it 
the following rules are strictly adhered to : 

1. Do not cut the cane until the seed begins to harden. 

2. Do not allow the cane to stand stripped in the field. 

3. Work up the cane as soon as possible after being cut. 

4. Defecate the juice as soon as possible after leaving the mill. 

5. For defecation use milk of lime, freed from coarse particles 
"by straining ; add it gradually to the juice with vigorous stirring, 
until a piece of red litmus paper is turned to a pale purple. 

6. Heat the juice quickly to the boiling point, as shown by the 
swelling and breaking of the scum. 

7. Remove the scum after allowing the juic3 to remain quiet 
for five minutes. 

8. Draw off the clear juice, through an aperture near the 
bottom of the defacator, into the evaporating pan. 

9. Add sulphurous acid to the clear juice until a piece of blue 
litmus paper is reddened.' 

10. Evaporate down until it reaches a density of 45° B., or if 
boiled in an open pan, to a boiling temperature of 284° F. 

11. Place in a warm room to crystallize, and in about a week 
it will be ready to separate. 

' This step may be omitted if no excess of lime has been added during def- 
ecation. It will have no efiect on the quantity of sugar obtained, but will 
make a lighter colored molasses. 



u 



RESULTS. 

Below will be found a table containing the summary of the re- 
sults obtained from two plots. Plot A was planted with seed ob- 
tained from Mr. Seth Kinney, of Morristown, Minnesota. Plot 
B was planted with seed from Mr. Charles Eastis, of Port Atkin- 
son, Wisconsin. Plot A was very much exposed and a great deal 
of the cane was lodged, while Plot B was more sheltered and the 
cane was in better condition. 



Area of plots in acres 

Total weight of cane 

Total weight of j uice in cane 

Weight of juice expressed 

Weight of juice left in bagasse 

Per cent, of cane sugar in juice 

Per cent, of glucose in juice 

Total weight of cane sugar in cane. . . . 
Weight of cane sugar in expressed j uice. 

Weight of cane sugar in bagasse 

Weight of syrup obtained 

Weight of cane sugar separated 

Weight of molasses 

Bushels of seed 



< 


03 m 


eq 




o « 0, 


o 








&. 




p. 


o 


o^ <d 


Cm 

o 


-o 


■^iSo 


rs 










2 S3 S a, 




fe 


F^ 


^ 


1% 






4,669 


30,348 


4,710 


3,875 


25,187 


3,909 


2,680 


17,420 


2,732 


1,195 


7,767 


1,177 


9.24 




10.53 


3.53 

358 




2.68 
415 


2,327 


248 


1,612 


290 


110 


715 


125 


333 


2,158 


408 


143 


923 


1993^ 


190 


1,235 


208K 





Ti u a o 
^ m aa Ot 



23,550 
19,545 
13,660 

5,885 



3,075 
1,450 

625 
3,040 

997K 
1,042>^ 
32 



A glance at the table will show at once the wastefulness of the 
present mode of extracting the juice. Out of 85 per cent, in the 
cane, only 60 per cent, was obtained, or nearly 80 per cent, of 
the sugar in the cane was left in the bagasse. This loss is un- 
undoubtedly smaller than that sustained in the majority of cases, 
as 60 per cent, of juice is larger than the average per cent, ob- 
tained by the small mills usually employed. The absurd theory 
that if too much juice is expressed, it will cause the whole to 
"sour," make a poor syrup, etc., is entirely false. 

THE DIFFUSION PROCESS. 

The diflfusion process for extracting the sugar from both beets 
and cane is now employed in nearly all of the principal factories. 
The cane is cut into thin slices by rapidly revolving cutting ma- 



15 

chines, the sugar being extracted from these by the use of water. 
If the pieces of cane are placed in a vessel, and a quantity of 
water equal to the quantity of juice in them be added, part of the 
sugar will at once pass through the cell walls into the surround- 
ing water, while part of the water will enter the cells. This 
will continue until the liquids inside and outside of the cell walls 
are of the same density. If this water be drained off, it will 
contain half the sugar. If, now, this same cane be treated with 
equal and successive portions of water, each portion, when 
drained off, will contain one-half of the sugar contained in the 
cane at the time when it was added. In other words, the cane 
■will retain after each draining, one-half, one-fourth, one-eighth, 
one-sixteenth, one-thirty-second, etc., of the sugar originally in the 
cane. In practice this process is carried on in such a way that 
the water is used over again on successive portions of 
cane until it becomes nearly as rich in sugar as the juice, only 
about 20 per cent of water being added. An apparatus work- 
ing on this principle has been invented in Europe, in which slices 
of cane or- beets are made to pass upward through a cylinder, by 
the aid of a mechanical feeder, while water passes in at the top 
of the cylinder, and in passing down becomes more and more 
charged with sugar, until it issues from below, carrying with it 
almost the whole of the sugar from the cane. 

In this way, it is claimed 94 per cent, of all the sugar in the 
cane is obtained, or 24 per cent, more than that obtained by an 
average good mill. This difference would constitute an immense 
profit in a large establishment. The juice is, moreover, perfectly 
clear, containing but small quantities of chlorophyl and other 
vegetable matter, which occur so abundantly in juice expressed 
by the mill. A better syrup and a larger yield of sugar is the 
result 

CANE FOR SYRUP MAKING, 

For the making of syrup exclusively, some experiments were 
made with the Early Amber, Early Orange and Honduras. Three 
plots were.planted, one with each variety, in close proximity to 
each other. They received the same amount of cultivation, and 
the comparative results are, we believe, as fair as they can possi- 



16 



blj be made. The plots were each one-fifth of an acre ; and for 
convenience sake, the results in the following table are calculated 
to one acre : 



Weight of stripped stalks 

Weight of juice expressed 

Per cent, of juice expressed 

Degree Beauine of juice 

Per cent, of cane sugar in juice 
Per cent, of glucose in juice. . . 
Oallons of syrup obtained 



u 


<o 


a> 


bQ 


^ 


□ 


^a 


-b2 


^< 


^o 


H 


31,000 


23,520 


13, 660 


17.966 


58.80 


57.95 


8.0 


8.5 


10.63 


10.50 


2.68 


4.95 


180 


239 



w 



42. 330 

24.433 

57.70 

7.0 

7.00 

4.20 

265 



There was no marked difference in the quality of these differ- 
ent kinds of sjrup, and it would certainly repay the cane growers 
to try the Honduras as a syrup producing cane. One great obsta- 
cle, however, is that the seed would have to be imported from 
more southern localities every season, as the seed hardly reaches 
beyond the milk stage before frost may be expected. 

METHODS FOR MAKING SYRUP. 

Several different methods for making syrup were used. The 
lightest colored oyrup will be produced when the juice is nearly 
boiled down, and skimmed without defecation. The acids which 
in that case remain free in the syrup, change large quantities of 
the cane sugar to glucose, and impart the " sorghum taste " to the 
syrup. In order to make a syrup free from this taste, the juice 
must be defecated. The defecation should be conducted in the 
same manner as that described under sugar making. If too much 
lime is added, a dark syrup will be the result. If the lime is 
added very carefully, so as to make the juice very nearly neutral, 
an excellent syrup will be produced. The following rule for 
defecating juice for syrup works well : Fill the defecator three- 
fourths full with fresh juice; heat to about 160° F., and add milk 
of lime perfectly fr^ed from coarse particles, until the juice becomes 
slightly alkaline. Fill the defecator with fresh juice, mix well 
and heat to boiling, skim and boil down to a syrup. The defe- 



17 

•cation may also be carried out as described under sugar making, 
a quantity, of sulphurous acid being added to the defecated juice 
until it becomes slightly acid. If properly conducted, this pro- 
cess will always make a good syrup. It is probably to be pre- 
ferred to any other, as it is very easily performed. Not much 
care is requisite, as any small excess of sulphurous acid wliich has 
been added, will escape with the steam during the boiling down 
of the juice. Sulphate of aluminum may be used instead of sul- 
phurous acid, with equally good results, but more care is neces- 
sary, since any excess that is added will remain in the syrup 
The flavor of the syrup will depend to a very great extent on the 
quantity of lime used for defecation, and the quantity to be 
added must be ascertained by practice. If the maker finds that 
the syrup still retains some of the " sorghum taste," it is a proof 
that too little lime has been used, and a stronger defecation should 
be made. If, on the other hand, the syrup is very dark, too much 
lime has been added. 

CONSUMPTION AND rRODUCTION. 

According to the late commissioner of agriculture a total of 
2,000,000,000 pounds of sugar was consumed in the United 
States during the year 1879. "Of this amount 1,743,560,000, or 
more than 80 per cent, besides 38,395,575 gallons of molasses, 
were imported. The whole valued at $114,516,745." He says 
further : "To bring the vast amount of sugar imported into this 
country within more easy comprehensioa, we have only to im- 
agine five vessels of nearly 500 tons each and loaded with sugar, 
arriving at our ports each day in the year." The question, there- 
fore, can cane sugar be profitably manufactured from northern 
sugar cane, is one of immense importance to this country. That 
there is much prejudice to be overcome, is evident. There are 
men to whom the bare idea seems ridiculous. In the face of 
these difficulties, however, we venture to state that if skillfally 
conducted, the manufacture of sugar from this cane will certainly 
pay. Assuming the sugar lo be worth 8 cents per pound, and the 
molasses 30 cents per gallon, we have the value of the produce 
per acre as follows : 
b 



18 



Yield at the rate of plot A : 



923 pounds of sugar at 8 cents -f^S 84 

103 gallons of syrup at 30 cents .• • • 30 90 

Total $ 104 74 

Yield at the rate of plot B : 

997J^ pounds of sugar at 8 cents $79 80 

87 gallons ot syrup at 30 cents 26 10 

Total $ 105 90 



The seed has a composition about the same as corn, and will 
undoubtedly constitute a good food for farm animals. The utili- 
zation of the by-products will constitute another source of in- 
come. The first scums being very rich in nitrogen and mineral 
salts, will make an excellent fertilizer, and from the last scums, 
being rich in sugar, a good vinegar may be manufactured. Tak- 
ing also into consideration that my experiments were conducted 
on a small and consequently a wasteful scale, my results are un- 
doubtedly too low. If the capital is sufficient to produce both 
refined sugar and syrup, the value of the products will be in- 
creased by at least one-third, 

COST OF PRODUCTION. 

The cost of production is of course the main consideration, and 
although I cannot as yet give any definite figures, I am confident 
that after paying all costs a good profit may be realized. The 
best plan for conducting this industry will be to have large central 
factories. During the working season these factories can work 
up a large quantity of cane grown in their vicinity, and during 
the remainder of the year the crude produce from smaller estab- 
lishments may be worked up and refined. 

SUCRATE OF LIME PROCESS, 

The sucrate of lime process now in full operation in Europe 
seems to be eminently fitted for carrying out this plan. A very 
brief outline of the process will perhaps not be out of place 
here, Sucrate of lime is a solid, containing when dry about 70 
per cent, of sugar, and having the appearance of sand. It is in- 
soluble in cold water, but soluble in hot water, and also in sola- 



19 

tioDs of sugar, not too concentrated. It is entirely unfermentable, 
and will not become mouldy or undergo decomposition, if kept 
for an indefinite length of time. It is therefore an excellent ma- 
terial for shipping and storing. Sucrate of lime may be manu- 
factured on the farm with a comparatively small outlay. The 
juice is defecated as usual, and boiled down to from 30°-32'' B. 
The syrup is then cooled and transferred to the sucration vessel. 
This vessel is usually made of galvanized sheet iron. In the 
center is a vertical shaft, carrying paddles, A certain quantity 
of pure and finely pulverized lime is then added, which becomes 
thoroughly mixed with the syrup by the motion of the paddles. 
The lime and sugar quickly combine, forming the sucrate of lime, 
which, when washed with cold water and dried, is ready for ship- 
ment to the refinery, where the sugar is separated from the lime 
and refined. This is, very briefly told, the process which we 
believe can be successfully applied to the manufacture of sugar 
from the sorghum cane. We trust that by another year, if these 
experiments are allowed to continue, some practical results in 
connection with this and the diff asion process may be brought out. 
It would have been very desirable to have made some experi- 
ments with these processes during the past season, but our time 
was entirely taken up by the work which has been done. More- 
over, the limited amount of means at hand would not warrant the 
construction of the special machinery necessary for conducting 
these processes. 

PRODUCTION OF SULPHUROUS ACID. 

Considerable quantities of sulphurous acid are needed in mak- 
ing syrup, and much expense may be saved by making it at the 
factory. When sulphur is burnt in the air, each part of sulphur 
unites with two parts of oxygen from the atmosphere, forming a 
gas called sulphur dioxide. This gas is readily soluble in water. 

When water has a temparature of 50° F. it will absorb 50 vol- 
umes, or one gallon of water will absorb 50 gallons of the gas. 
As the temperature of the water rises, it becomes less capable of 
absorbing the gas, so that at 70° F. it will absorb only 31 volumes. 
The solution of this gas in water constitutes sulphurous acid« 



20 

Hence to prepare it, all that is necessary is to cause the fumes of 
burning sulphur to come into contact with water. 

The easiest way for persons using steam-power to make 
this acid is to draw the fumes of burning sulphur from the 
furnace by a common gas pump and force them through a pipe 
reaching to the bottom of a barrel filled with water. The 
bubbles of gas escaping through the lower end of the pipe will be 
absorbed by the water in ascending. It is best to bend the pipe 
so that its lower end may lie along the bottom of the barrel. The 
open end should be closed, and the part lying on the bottom 
should be pierced with small holes so as to make a large number 
of small bubbles, instead of a few large ones, the gas being ab- 
sorbed in this manner more rapidly. In this way a barrel of sul- 
phurous acid may be made at a cost of from 75 cents to 80 cents. 
Any further information may be obtained on this subject by 
writing. 

Below will be found the analysis of several bundles of cane, 
which I received from different parts of the state. Many bundles 
arrived without any labels, having lost them during transporta- 
tion. Such samples were not analyzed, as it was impossible to 
tell whence they had been sent. If parties who have sent cane 
are not represented in the following table, it is because I have re- 
ceived no information in regard to the cane sent, or else the cane 
has been without labels, making it impossible for me to tell where 
it belonged. 



21 



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22 

It is hardly possible to draw any definite conclusions from the 
above analyses, as many samples were not received for several 
weeks after being cut. It will be seen, however, that nearly all 
those samples which were analyzed within but a few days after 
being cut contain a large proportion of cane sugar, while those 
which were analyzed after a longer period of time show a high 
content of glucose, and a low proportion of cane sugar. This 
corroborates my statement in the first part of this report, and 
shows the necessity of working up the cane directly from the 
field in order to get the best results. 

It will also be seen that all the samples conspicuous for their 
high content of cane sugar are raised on a light soil, usually sandy 
loam, while those raised on heavy clay land contain large propor- 
tions of glucose. It therefore appears that in order to obtain a 
maximum content of cane sugar, the cane should be grown on a 
light soil. For making syrup alone, the cane raised on clayey 
land will do about as well, as the high content of glucose will 
not materially affect the quality of the syrup. 



23 



VARIETIES OF CANE GROWN FOR EXPERIMENTS. 
By Prof. W. A. Henry. 

Amber cane was grown from seed obtained from Charles Eus- 
tis, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and Seth Kinnej, Morristown, 
Minnesota. From Mr. Kinnej were also several packages of 
seed of Early Amber grown under different conditions. From 
J. A. Hedges, St. Louis, Missouri, Kansas Orange, Hedges' Early 
Orange, Early Orange and Honduras. Also Early Orange from 
Illinois Industrial University, Champaign, Illinois, through Prof. 
M. A. Scoville. 

All these varieties and sub- varieties showed peculiarities 
worthy of attention, but it is useless to report from one season 
only. 

The experiments this year all centered about the question of 
how much sugar and syrup could be obtained from the cane, and 
in this Mr. Swenson's attention was so absorbed that the relative 
, merits of each of the varieties could not be investigated. 

A thick or thin stand of cane evidently makes a great differ- 
ence in the quality of the juice, and a fair test of varieties can 
only be made when each has been planted in various ways as to 
width of rows, distance apart of hills and number of stalks in 
the hill. 

There is no doubt but that varieties vary in value, and it is 
important that the peculiarities of eacb be known, yet it is a 
more difficult task to find this out than with most farm crops. 
If the experiments are continued next season, this will be one of 
the problems to work upon. 

AMOUNT OF SYRUP PRODUCED PER ACRE. 

As might be expected, the reports show a wide variation in the 
amount of syrup which is obtained from an acre of ground. Not 
only does the difference follow from variations in quantity and 
quality of cane produced, but also from varying densities to 
which the syrup is reduced. Some manufacturers make a much 
thicker syrup than others. The reported yields therefore show 



24 

only in an imperfect way what can be obtained ; still they are of 
value, I think, to those looking up the subject. 

S. Hanson, of Whitewater, one of the oldest and most experi- 
enced growers in the state, reports 18 gallons from ten rods of 
ground and 200 gallons per acre from larger pieces. 

Joseph n. Osborn, Oshkosb, reports the highest yield, 226 gal- 
lons, with an average of 150. 

N. D. Comstock, Arcadia, Trempealeau county, estimates the 
average at 125 gallons. 

Maxon and Almony, Milton Junction, Eock county, estimate 
the average at 150 gallons. 

J. H. Ehodes, Sextonville, Richland county, raised on one acre 
170 gallons. 

O. S. Powell, of River Falls, Pierce county, estimates the aver- 
age crop at 100 gallons. 

H. T. Webster, Keene, Portage county, obtained 40 'gallons 
from twenty-eight rods of ground. 

J. D. Sherwood, Dartford, Green Lake county, reports one- 
third of an acre yielding 12,588 pounds of stalks, from whicb 
79.14 gallons of syrup were made. 

A. J. Decker, Fond du Lac, considers 125 gallons the average.. 

Mr. S. Nason, of Nasonville, Wood county, where cane was 
grown this season for the first time, reports 800 gallons from four- 
acres. 

Evan Erickson, Stevenstown, La Crosse county, obtained 1,050" 
gallons from five acres. 

The average yield of syrup on good ground in a favorable 
season may be set down at about 160 gallons. With such culture 
as is usually given to it the yield will be about 100. It may be 
set down as a fact that wherever it has been planted in the state,, 
it has succeeded no matter how poor the soil was. It promises to 
be one of the very best crops for our sandy lands, for though the 
yield per acre will not be large, the syrup will be of fine quality. 
Land on the experimental farm which produced fifty bushels of 
corn per acre this year gave two hundred gallons of thick syrup. 



25 



TONS OF CANE PRODUCED PER ACRE. 

This season several of the large manufacturers have purchased 
cane by the ton, the price paid usually being $2.50 per ton for 
stripped and topped cane delivered at the mill. This makes it 
important to ascertain the number of tons produced per acre. 

I take the following yields from the same source as before : 

N. D. Comstock, Arcadia, Trempealeau county, grew fifteen 
tons, yielding 171 gallons, on one acre. 

Geo. Grant, Janesville, reports one instance of eleven tons 
grown on an acre, producing fourteen gallons of syrup per ton, 
each gallon weighing eleven and a half pounds. A. 0. Kent, 
Janesville, puts the average product for the year at ten tons per 
acre. The average may be safely stated at from ten to twelve 
tons per acre, according to the soil and season, I think. Should 
the industry grow in importance, purchasing cane by weight from 
the grower will become a very common practice, and if we may 
judge from the difficulties arising between beet growers and sugar 
manufacturers in France, it is easy to see that no small amount of 
trouble will occur with us. 

To )>urchase cane simply by weight, without regard to its char- 
acter, will be alike ruinous to manufacturer and grower. In some 
way the quality of the juice must be considered. For syrup 
making, a densimeter, as the Baume scale, will do fairly well in 
helping determine the true value of cane. In thestandard ton of 
cane the stalks should be straight, with leaves and top removed, 
all small canes and suckers being left out. The juice should have 
a certain density, as shown by the Baume scale. 

The price for such cane could be agreed upon by growers and 
manufacturers before planting time. At the same time the price 
of cane which falls below this standard or rises above it, can also 
be arranged. 

Those who are contemplating th's business on a large scale can- 
not turn their attention to this part of the industry any too soon, 
for our farmers are too independent of any one crop to attempt 
raising Amber cane for syrup boilers who are so careless that they 
will not pay for what they get according to its true value. Great 
care must be exercised to make the business a profitable one for 



26 

careful growers. By purchasing according to a standard, the 
grower who plants upon sandy land, for instance, and produces a 
very high grade cane, may find the small number of tons from an 
acre returning a gooc) profit, while a stated i)rice per ton, without 
regard to quality, would drive him from the business. 

It may be interesting to note in this connection that in France 
the price is $4 for a ton (2,200 pounds) of beets, the juice of 
which has a density of 5.5 degrees (1.055), and that for variation 
above or below this standard, special contracts are usually made, 
though in general where the system has been adopted, 80 cents is 
added to this price for each additional degree above the standard, 
and subtracted for each degree below. 

CANE SEED FOR FEED. 

For several reasons the value of cane; seed for feed has received 
little attention. Its importance has not yet impressed itself upon 
cane growers. As will be seen from Mr. Swenson's report, from 
one-fifth of an acre of ground, 6f bushels of seed, weighing 53 
pounds per bushel, were obtained, or at the rate of 32 bushels 
per acre. 

The averag3 yield of oats in the vicinity of Madison this sea- 
son was about 35 bushels. 

J. M, Edwards, Oik Hill, Jefferson county, reports 230 bushels 
of seed, weighing 58 pounds per bushel, from 9 acres. 

I do not think the feeding value of this seed can fall below 
that of oats, and possibly it is nearly equal to corn. Experi- 
ments will be tried upon the farm this winter to learn its value by 
practical tests. 

There is no difficulty in saving the seed, as the heads can lie 
upon the ground a long time unless there is an excessive amount 
of rain. The heads can be drawn and spread on the barn floor, 
or what would be better, arranged on racks in a shed like broom 
corn. Some bind the heads in bundles and stand them on end in 
the field like bundles of wheat, to dry. 

According to one test the weight of the green leaves as stripped 
from the cane is nearly one-fourth as much as the weight of the 
stripped cane. From this I estimate that an acre producing, for 
instance, twelve tons of stripped cane will yield three tons of 



27 



green leaves, which will afford somewhere between half a ton and 
a ton of dried leaves per acre. 

All who have fed these dried leaves speak of them as equal to 
hay in value ; they are not difficult to dry or care for, but owing 
to the season of the year and the great press of work at that time, 
they are apt to be neglected. Toe unusual rainy fall mide it im- 
possible to save the leaves from our cane for experimental feed- 
ing, as had been intended. 

THE LESSONS OF THE SEASON. 

As a summary of the reports sent in by one hundred and eighty 
manufacturers, I would state that the season, upon ths whole, can- 
not be called a favorable one. Probably owing to the intense cold 
that came on in ISTovember, 1880, the vitality of cane seed was so 
injured that when planted last spring it failed in many instances 
to grow. This cut down the acreage very considerably in many 
localities. The fall frosts were long delayed, and in this regard 
the season was peculiarly favorable. The almost daily rains dur- 
ing the whole fall made stripping very disagreeable and the roads 
almost impassable, so that the cane could not be drawn far, and 
much of it spoiled in the fields. Again, heavy autumn winds 
laid the cane flat and tangled it, making the expense of stripping 
and cutting fully double what it should have been. 

Mr. Swenson's analyses show that the cane sugar is mostly 
changed to glucose when the cane is blown down, though the loss 
is not so manifest when syrup alone is made. Had sugar been 
the object with our manufacturers this season, it would have been 
a very unfavorable one. 

This year has seen the introductioa of steam into quite a num- 
ber of factories, by which means syrup can be made much cheaper 
than by direct heat. With such facilities defecation is easily 
practiced, and syrup of superior quality made. I consider the 
success attained by these steam boiling works as the mjst marked 
event of the season. Previous to this year no one had but a few 
hundred dollars invested in the business. There seemed to be 
no chance for capital to take hold of it as long as direct heat was 
used, but with the introductioa of steam apparatus, capital can 
be invested with profit to the owner and advancement to the busi- 



28 

ness. With so many large manufacturers in the Geld, Amber 
syrup must go into the market in considerable quantities, and 
this, with the high quality of the goods, will soon command pub- 
li3 attention. It is the introduction of these large factories that 
we must expect and encourage, if this is to become one of the 
great industries of the state. 

One of the plainest lessons of the season is the importance of 
growing cane close to where it is worked up. A wagon load of 
the stripped stalks at the crusher is not worth over five dollars. 

It at once becomes evident that such weighty material cannot 
be drawn long distances with any profit, and that the syrup works 
must be located near the fields where the cane is grown. Cane to 
be profitable should not be grown over two miles from the works, 
unless the roads are excellent, when possibly three may be set as 
the limit. Those who are locating mills should aim to settle at 
points where the cane fields can be about them on all sides. Fuel 
need not be considered, for the bagasse is sufficient when properly 
managed to supply all the heat needed. The transportation of 
the syrup requires that the works be near a railroad station. 

Another fact of the utmost importance has been made plain this 
season, that is, defecation of the juice by some method is essen- 
tial. The prejudice against the syrup because of its acid or " sor- 
ghum taste " keeps the market price down below what it should 
be, and then buyers will only take it at a low price or not at all. 
If they must pay syriip prices, they prefer New Orleans. 

Even the syrup shipped is not sold to the consumer direct, but 
is first mixed with glucose to remove the strong taste, or rather to 
flavor the glucose. 

The only way to overcome this prejudice is to make a syrup 
with the sorghum taste left out. The experiments on the farm 
and by others show this to be possible, ani thit the methods are, 
upon the whole, very simple. I am aware that quite a prejudice 
exists among boilers against any clarification of the juice. Some 
even argue that people refuse to purchase Amber cane syrup not 
because of its sorghum taste, but because it is a home product. 
They forget that maple syrup, a home product, brings three times 
the price of the New Orleans. 

Our boilers here exerted every effort toward making a light 



29 

colored syrup, and because lime darkens it they are afraid to use 
lime. If every boiler would use lime cautiously next season, let- 
ting color be considered after flavor, there would be more real 
advancement in the industry than ten years of present methods 
of attempted improvement will bring. At present, less than ten 
per cent, of the boilers use lime or practice defecation of any kind, 

CAN THE FARMER MAKE HIS OWN SUGAR? 

This is a question naturally asked by many who have not 
studied the problem to any extent. 

Most certainly not, if profit is to be considered. A farmer 
might have a mill and make his own patent process flour, but it 
would not pay him. His business is rather to grow the wheat, 
while skilled men attend to the milling. 

While first class Amber syrap can be made by proper means 
with a small investment and a fair amount of skill, sugar making 
must be left to skilled men under the direction of a chemist or 
expert. Such experts must be trained to work with northern 
cane, and not brought from southern localities where the con- 
ditions are very different. Such persons though experts at home 
would only be students, for a time at least, at the north. In order 
to manufacture sugar there must be quite a large investment of 
capital in machinery ; to manage this there must be skilled men, 
and over all must be a man who by chemical tests reads the vary- 
ing conditions of the juice as it runs from the crusher from day 
to day, and whose work is law with all other employees. Until 
there are such experts capital should be most cautious. Fine 
sugar works with costly machinery will not alone bring sugar, as 
the many past failures show. It would be far better for all con- 
cerned to wait ten years before another step is taken in this prom- 
ising industry than to have it blighted in the start by failures. 
With capital carefully invested in proper machinery, the works 
located in the midst of cane fields, and run by good workmen and 
a skilled chemist, there is no doubt but money can be made as 
rapidly as in any manufacturing business. When success comes, 
the farmer will sell his cane at the sugar works as he does his 
wheat at the mill, but he will not be a sugar boiler and farmer 
combined. 



30 



EXPERIMENT WITH FERTILIZERS. 

In order to ascertain the value of fertilizers in the production 
of syrup, an experiment was planned a year ago, in which the co- 
operation of our Wisconsin farmers was solicited. Over forty 
farmers agreed to carry out a simple experiment as I directed. 
The following are the directions which were sent to each in April 
last: 

DIRECTIONS FOR THE EXPERIMENT. 

Select in the field where cane is to be planted three plots of 
ground, each containing not less than ten square rods and lying 
side by side. The ground should be as uniform as possible in its 
composition and fertility. Do not select soil where one end of 
the plot is sand and the other loam or clay. No matter which it 
is, but have it all of one character. Have the plots, if possible, 
long and narrow, say one rod by ten, or two by twenty, etc. The 
plots should lie side by side and should not be separated from one 
another or the rest of the field. One plot, No. 1, plow in well- 
rotted stable manure at the rate of sixteen large loads per acre — 
one load for every ten rods. Plot No, 2, which is to be the mid- 
dle plot, has no manure of any kind upon it. When the cane on 
plot No. 3 is three or four inches high apply plaster to the bills 
or rows to the amount of one hundred and sixty pounds per acre, 
or ten pounds for every ten rods. The cane is to be planted and 
cultivated in the same manner as the rest of the field. If possi- 
ble, weigh the cane of each plot separately when ready for the 
mill. Boil the juice to a syrup weighing eleven and a half 
pounds per gallon, and determine accurately the yield of each 
plot. Save a sample of syrup from each plot for comparison. 

Report to the department upon the following points : 

1. Amount of ground in each plot. 

2. Cbar<acter of soil — clay, loam, sand, etc. 

3. Is soil naturally rich or poor? 

4. Number of years the field has been in cultivation, 

5. Crops grown on field previous year. 

G. Whether or not the field was manured the previous year. 
7. Method of planting cane — in drills or hills. 



31 

8. Time of planting. 

9. Time of ripening. 

10. When manufactured. 

11. Yield of syrup from each plot. 

12. Character of syrup from each plot, as to color, clearness and flavor. 

But one of all who agreed to undertake the experiment carried 
it through successfully. Mr. S. B. Chatfield, of Adams, Wal- 
worth county, makes the following report : 

Adams, January 2, 1882. 
Mr. W. a. Henry: 

Dear Sir— I have been so very busy that I have neglected to send samples 
until to-day. I express them as you requested. I will answer those ques- 
tions to the best of my ability : 

1 rod wide, 10 rods long. 

Black sandy loam. 

Naturally rich. 

Under cultivation 33 years. 

Sugar cane. 

Not manured the previous year. 

In drills. 

Planted IQlh of May. 

Ripe from 12th to 15th of September. 

Manufactured September 28. 

No. 1, 17 gallons; No. 2, 10 gallons; No. 3, 14 gallons. 

The three samples must speak for themselves. 

The samples were indeed interesting. That from unmanured 
soil was light colored, and sugar crystals in considerable numbers 
and of fair size formed in it. The syrup from the manured plot 
was the darkest. Other qualitie?, marked in their way, I am very 
sorry I cannot report on, as Mr. Chatfield's samples were put on 
exhibition at the state cane growers' convention, and two of the 
bottles were carried off by some visitor. 

It is most unfortunate that more had not been as persistent as 
Mr. Chatfield, for untold good would flow from united work in 
this way. 

If there are any of our farmers who are willing to try such an 
experiment again, I shall be pleased to have their names and will 
forward directions in due time. 

The importance of united work will appear plain to all who 
have grown cane to any extent. 



No. 


1. 


No. 


2. 


No. 


3. 


No. 


4. 


No. 


5. 


No. 


6. 


No. 


7. 


No. 


8. 


No. 


9. 


No. 


10. 


No. 


11. 


No. 


12. 



33 



LIST OF SYRUP MANUFACTURERS IN WISCONSIN. 



The following is a list of all manufacturers whose names I have 
been able to obtain, together with address and amount of syrup 
made by each during the fall of 1881. 

For convenience of reference, they are arranged alphabetically 
by counties : 



Name. 



George Cochran 

Edwin Blood , 

John B. Sweet , 

C. C. Carr 

L. K. Goodall 

Charles W. Peters. . . 

Cyrus Root 

L. S. Wright 

I. B. Hayden 

Samuel A. Clark. . . . 

W.J. Lankford 

C. R. Rounds 

A. H. Anderson 

J. H. Greening 

Kenry Linley 

W. M. Sprague 

B. F. Wil'iamsou .. . 
R. L. Clason. ....... 

C. J. Davis 

Charles Link 

Joseph Philips .... 

W. H. Clyde 

"W. H. Doane 

H. J. Myers 

F. M. Steves 

W. W. Waterbury. . . 
George W. Jones . . . 

J. W. Bailey 

A. J. Decker 

C. J. Gordon 

George Jenkinson . . 
M. M. Alexander . . . 

C. D. Barnes 

Francis A. Markert . 

Lewis Glass. 

C. S. Ruddock 

G. W. Sneldon 

J. D. Sherwood 

Aug. Ziemer 

Peter Crook 

J. P. Beard 

F. W. Board 

E. G. Dodge 

Jtiley Moulton 



POSTOFFICE. 



Gilmanton 

Stockbridge ... . 

Chilton 

Poynette 

Lodi 

Columbus 

Otsego 

Fall River 

Freeman 

Prairie du Chien 

Ferryville 

Mt. Sterling 

Black Earth 

Mazomanie 

Mazomanie 

Lake View 

Madison 

Beaver Dam 

Beaver Dam 

Danville 

Randolf 

Rock Falls 

Fall City 

Elk Mound 

Louisville 

Augusta 

Fairchild 

Ripon 

Fond du Lac . . . . 

Oakfield 

Brandon 

Montfort 

Brodtville 

Lancaster 

Wyalusing 

Berlin 

Markesan 

Dartford 

Berlin 

Dodgeville 

Elroy 

Elroy 

Mauston 

New Lisbon 




Buffalo 

Calumet 

Calumet 

Columbia 

Columbia 

Columbia 

Columbia 

Columbia 

Crawford 

Crawford 

Crawford 

Crawford 

Dane 

Dane 

Dane 

Dane 

Dane 

Dodge 

Dodge 

Dodge 

Dodge 

Dunn 

Dunn 

Dunn 

Dunn 

Eau Claire .... 

Eau Claire 

Fond du Lac .. 
Fond du Lac . . 
Fond du Lac . . 
Fond du Lac . . 

Grant 

Grant 

Grant 

Grant 

Green Lake 

Green Lake.. . . 

Green Lake 

Green Lake.... 

Iowa 

Juneau 

Juneau 

Juneau 

Juneau 



33 



Name. 




D.Travis 

A. L. White 

Win. Goudre 

P. W. & C. S. Cartwright, 

F. E. Chartier 

E. Colwell 

J. M. Edwards 

John Moore 

R S. Pearsall 

L. B. Green 

Frank 0. Lehman 

Williams & Colweli 

Williams & Dow 

W. H. Pearuon 

William Jauare 

Smith Hoyt 

Geo. B.Allen 

H. C. Davis 

B. C. Henry 

L. W. Thayer 

Jqmes F. Petrie 

Evan Erickson 

Nels Hanson 

N. D. Loomis 

T. O. Misher 

Hollister Phillips 

Henry Rhode 

H. H. Slye 

Frank Pfaif 

Riley T. Scott 

Vincent Bruner 

Richard Graham 

O. A. Scott 

T. Wells 

L. Burinac 

Casper Eberdt 

W. G. West 

M. Shidle 

Samuel Thompson 

W. H. Tilton 

J. McLean 

L.E. Buck 

W. M. Burrows 

Silas D. Clark 

Nicholas Piper 

Albert Taylor 

Reuben Thompson 

H. T. Webster 

Alex. G. Coffin 

A. H. Cott 

D. W. P elps 

S. L. Plummer 

Hiram B. Stone 



Wonewoc 

Mauston 

Milford 

Rome 

Rome 

Farmington . . . 

Oak Hill; 

Rome 

Waterloo 

Hebron 

Watertown 

Farmington . . . 

Palmyra 

Palmyra 

Palmyra 

Milford 

Milford • 

Irving 

Pine Hill 

Kenosha 

Kenosha 

Btevenstowu . . . 

Rockland 

West Salem 

Bangor 

Mindora 

Barre Mills 

Mindora 

Hurr Oak 

Yellowstone .. . 
Blanchardville 

Jeddo 

Westfield ...... 

Ntshkfira 

Oil City 

Tomah 

Sparta 

Sparta 

Osceola Mills.. 
Osceola Mills. . 
St. Croix Falls. 

Sherman 

A-lmond 

Plover 

Almond 

Blaine 

Amherst 

Keene 

Durand 

Jeddo 

Durand 

Arkansaw 

Durand 



County. 



Juneau 

Juneau 

Jefferson 

Jefferson 

Jefferson 

Jefferson 

Jefferson.. . 
Jefferson.. . 

Jefferson 

Jefferson. . . 
Jefferson. . . 
Jefferson.. . 
Jefferson.. . 
Jefferson.. . 
Jefferson. . . 
Jefferson.. . 
Jefferson... 
Jackson . . . 
Jackson . . . 
Kencsha . . 
Kenosha . . 
La Crosse. . 
La Crosse. . 
La Crosse. . 
La Crosse. . 
La Crosse. . 
La Crosse. . 
La Cr( sse. , 
La Crosse. . 
La Fayette 
La Fayette 
Marquette . 
Marquette . 
Marqu tte . 
Monroe . . . 
Monroe . . . 
Monroe . . . 
Monroe . . . 

Polk 

Polk 

Polk 

Portage . . . 
Portage . . . 
Portage . . . 
Portage . . . 
Portage . . . 
Portage . . . 
Portage . . . 

Pepin 

Pepin 

Pepin 

Pepin 

Pepin 






a <o 

OX3 

OS g 



663 
3,800 

900 
8,500 
5,000 
3,500 
4,300 
4,300 
3,000 
1,600 
3,800 
8,000 

900 
3,000 
1,000 
3,S00 

100 
1,700 
1,959 
1,564 

400 
1,800 

600 

3,5U0 

, 000 

,600 

1,010 

3,035 

.1,165 

1,465 

550 
1,876 
3,700 
1,700 

666 
1,800 
1,675 
3,000 
8,309 
1,084 

919 
1,000 
3,500 
3,130 
3,576 
3,630 
3,353 
1,500 
1 ,969 
1,700 

900 
3,400 
1,950 



Name. 



T. J. Atwater 

O. S. Powell 

L. L. Richardson 

Conrad We -horn 

Charles N. Soule , 

Thos. McFarland 

Nims & Voorhees 

A. A. (Jowey 

John J. Dillon 

K W. Peters 

J. H. R lodes 

N. G. Sirram 

Thos. S. Palmer 

Buob & Russell 

Conrad »& Dibble 

George Grant 

A. C. Kent 

M. M. Tullar 

W. J. Mclntyre 

Maxon & Almony 

Bauernleind & AUetzan. 

M. J. Adams 

L. T. Allbe 

Isaac W. Carpenter 

C. H. Dome 

G. F. Faller 

C. Henneberg 

J. T. Huntington 

W. Jefry 

W. H. Koukel 

J. W. Shourds 

C. R. Thayer 

R. F. Coie..... 

J.B. Filbian 

Foster & Nye 

F. W. Hitchings 

J.M.Nash 

E.G. Partridge 

N. D. Comstock 

B. Dissmore 

A. F. Heusel 

A. H. Rogers 

D. 8. Watson 

H. H. Morgan 

L. F. Day 

W. Frazier 

E. B. Hyde 

M. K. Jefferies 

C. Bloeman 

S. H. Helmer 

S. S. Nason 

Henry Hull 

A.G. Lull 



POSTOFFICE. 



COUNT-Y. 



Prescott Pierce . 

River Falls Pierce. 

Clifton Mills Pierce. 

Ellsworth Pierce . 

Rochester Racme 

Waterford Racine 

Burlington I Racine 

Port Andrew Richland 

Basswood 

Basswood 

Sextonville ........ 

Basswood 

Eagle Corners 

Janesville 



Evansville.. . . ... 

Janesville 

Janesville 

Evansville 

Whitewater 

Milton Junction . 

Glenbeulah 

Baraboo 

North Freedom. . 
White Mound . . . 
Baraboo. ....... 

Baraboo 

La Valle 

Delton 

Baraboo 

Biraboo 

Reedsburg 

Baraboo 

Reedsburg 

Hammond 

New Richmond. . 
N. Wis. Junction 

Hudson 

Warren 

Arcadia 

Whitehall 

Arcadia 

Osseo 

Whitehall 

Red Mound , 

Retreat , 

Enterprise , 

Retreat 

Hillsboro , 

Red Mound 

Hartford 

Nasonville 

Eureka 

Osldkosh 



Richland . . 
Richland . . 
Richland . . 
Richland . , 
Richland . . 

Rock 

Rock 

Rock 

Rock 

Rock 

Rock 

Rock 

Sheboygan 
tsauk 



Sauk 

Sauk 

Sauk 

Sauk 

Sauk 

Sauk 

Sauk 

Sauk 

Sauk 

Sauk 

Sauk 

St. Croix 

St. Croix 

St. Croix . . . . 
St. Croix . . . . 
St. Croix . . . . 
Tiempealeau 
Trempealeau 
Trempealeau 
Trempealeau 
Trempealeau 

Vernon 

Vernon 

Vernon 

Vernon 

Vernon 

Vernon 

Washington . 

Wood , 

Winnebago. . 
Winnebago. . 



Coo 






35 



Names. 


POSTOFFICE. 


County. 


Gallons syrup 
made in 1881. 


Whitemarsh & Edwards . 

Joseph H. Osborn 

W. M. Davies 


Oshkosh 

Oshkosh 


Winnebago.... 
Winnebago.. . , 

Waushara 

Waushara 

Waushara 

Waushara 

Waushara 

Waushara 

Waushara 

Waukesha 

Waukesha 

Waukesha 

Walworth 

Walworth 

Walworth 

Walworth 

Walworth . ... 

Walworth 

Walworth .... 
Walworth .... 

Waupaca 

Waupaca 

Waupaca 

Waupaca 

Waupaca 

Waupaca 

Waupaca 

Waupaca 

Waupaca 

Waupaca 


2,000 
3,500 


Wild Rose 


1, 150 


Charles 0. Dill 


Oasis 

Hamilton's Mills 

Spring Lake 


1,000 


D. A. 0. McGowan 

Wm. Scobie 


516 
1,600 


H. C. Van Airsdale 


Sax vi lie 


1,000 


W. M. Ware 


Hancock 


777 


Wilfred Lane 


Wild Rose 

Eagle 


500 


]VT. D Morrison 


800 


Romeo Sprague 

Edward P. Hinkley 

8. B. Chatfield 


Eagle 


1 000 


Eagle 


750 


Adams 


1,606 


T. M. Cook 


Little Prairie 


1,150 


8. Hanson 


Whitewater 


2,000 
100 


Chas E. Horton 


Whitewater 


J. Patchin 


Heart Prairie 


1,100 


Pliny Potter 


Little Prairie 


250 


T. M. iShoudy 


Geneva 


400 


Ambrose Warner 


Whitewater 


2,300 


Richard Chambers 


Weyauwega 


550 


John Clark 


Waupaca 


2,000 


W. E. Clark 


Bear Creek 

Waupaca 


900 


R J Folks 


2,300 


E G Furlong 


Rural 


2,000 


T. S. Neyward 

Sumner Packard 


Rural 

Crystal Lake 


1,800 
1,000 


Alvin Pope 


Lind 

Ogdensburg 


3,000 


J. Rode 


400 


Milton Stanley 


Manawa 


1,500 









36 



The following names have been received since tabulating the 
above : 



Names. 



Silas Hammond 

M. P. Hammond 

D. McDonald 

Cyrus G. Patton 

Gustav Yis3 

John R. Roth 

Charles B. Bowerman 

James F. Brown 

J. E. Arnold 

R. Grant 

L. F. Craadall 

Wm. Gaven 

Otto Amundson 

James Sykes 

John C. O'Bleness . . . 
A.J. (Junniugham. . . 
Travers & Snyder. . . . 
Bennett & Mecum... 

Ole O.Lamb 

Alex. Cauce 

R. F. Gale 

Charles Fuchs 

Jacob Mann 

Ole Ivanteson 

William Stevenson. . 

George C. Clark 

W. VV. Minor 

Joseph Morgan 

S. M. Honaker 

Warren C. Bates..".... 

A. H. Bates 

Lester N. Porter , 



POSTOPFICB. 



Strong's Prairie. 
Strong's Prairie . 

Verona 

A'-gusta 

Otto Creek 

Platteville 

Patch Grove 

Mineral Point. . 
Melrose . ... . 

Necedah 

North Bend 

Mindora 

Stevenstown . . . 
Stevenstown . . . 

Jeddo 

Woodstock 

Woodstock .... 
Richland Center 

Glasgow 

Ettrick , 

Reedsburg. . .. .. 

Spring Green. .. 
Spring Green. .. 
Spring Green. .. 

De Soto 

Victory 

Retreat 

Retreat 

Liberty Pole ... 

Retreat 

Retreat , 

Wautoma 



County. 



Adams 

Adams 

Dane 

Eau Claire . . 
Eau Claire . . 

Grant 

Grant 

Iowa 

Jackson 

Juneau 

Jackson . . . . 
La Crosse . . . 
La Crosse . . . 
La Crosse , .. 
Marquette . . . 
Richland . . . . 
Richland . . . 
Richland . . . 
Trempealeau 
Trempealeau 

Sauk 

Sauk 

Sauk 

Sauk ..... . 

Vernon 

Vernon 

Vernon 

Vernon 

Vernon 

Vernon. .... 

Vernon 

Waushara . . . 



D— ; 

P CO 
t-oo 

a 

S V 



330 

90O 

800 
1,300 
1,400 
1,000 

718 
1,100 

800 

618M 
3,470 
2,700 
1,000 
1,100 
1,100 

900 
1,500 

800 
2,300 
2,000 
1,460 
2,800 

500 

500 
2,939 
1,400 
2,100 
1,800 
2,000 

750 
1,400 
1,572 



37 



CORRESPONDENCE. 

From among a large number of letters upon the subject, I se- 
lect the following, which will, I am certain, be read with interest: 

[From A. J. Decker, Esq., Fond du Lac, Wis.] 

Fond du Lac, Wis., December 17, 1881. 
Prof. W. A. Henry, Agricultural Departmeut, University of Wisconsin: 

Dear Sir — Another season has passed, and another harvest has been gath- 
ered with its lessons of success or failure. That should teach us in luture 
years how to attain success and avert the chances ot failure. 

Though the past season has been the poorest in many years for growing 
Amber cane, and its manufacture into syrup and sugar, yet I think we have 
advanced very materially. 

The late cold, wet spring greatly retarded planting, and fully one-third of 
the amount planted came up so poorly that it was plowed up and other crops 
planted. This was the case mostly with farmers who had little or no expe- 
rience in raising cane, and mistook it for pigeon grass, or thought it looked 
too small to ever pay for the taking care of it. While farmers understanding 
it better, cultivated it carefully and were paid with good crops. The fall has 
been very bad for the manufacture of syrup. The grinding season com- 
menced about September 15, and by [the 25th it commenced ra'ning and 
rained almost every day for six weeks, until the country was flooded and 
roads impassable; some farmers feeding their cane to their cattle, a few of 
them storing it in their barns, hoping for better weather to haul it to the mill; 
and after I had finished the cane at the mill and 'had been shut down nearly 
a month, I started up to accommodate those farmers and to determine the 
amount and quality of syrup that could be made from cane kept so long after 
being cut, which was seven weeks. The result was a fine, Ight syrup, and 
about three-fourths of a full crop. Out of this lot was one-half acre from 
which I made 953^ gallons of syrup, for which the owner was offered sixty 
cents per gallon at the mill, which speaks well for its quality. 

From the unfavorable season we have learned many valuable lessons which 
a favorable season would not have shown, and solving such difficult prob- 
lems is taking a firm step in advance towards the time when this industry, 
with the aid of your department, is to be an established source of business 
and wealth to the people of the state of Wisconsin. 

One great drawback has been the lack of proper knowledge in the manip- 
ulation of the juice to obtain the best results, and people starting factories 
have been so anxious to get such information taat they have been the easy 
prey of traveling sharks, claiming to be experts in the business, referring to 
some successful factory to which their name may be attached in some capac- 
ity, claiming by their skill and superior articles to have accomplished such 
results, and offering to sell a mill and outfit, for which they ask a fancy pric« 



38 



and will then give full instructions in their secret processes for one cent 

per gallon on each gallon of syrup made by them during the season. The 

work of your department will put a stop to this swindling business, and I 

hope the legislature will appropriate such amounts as may be requisite to 

fully develop the cane resources, and place Wisconsin in a position to raise 

her own sugar and syrup, for which she has paid over $8,000,000 per annum. 

My factory has an easy capacity of 400 gallons syrup in twenty-four hours. 

I use steam for defecating and evaporating, and the Plantation Mill made by 

the Madison Manufacturing Company, and no other state can furnish a better 

one. I would be glad to have you visit my factory in grinding season if 

possible. Hoping for your complete success in developing the sugar 

resources of Wisconsin, 

I am yours truly. 



A. J. DECKER. 



To Prof W. A. Henry, Agr. Dep't, University Wis. 



[From J. T. Huntington, Esq., Delton, Wis.] 

Prof. W. A. Henry : 

Dear Sir — In reply to your request for something from me on the cane 
business, I submit the following: 

The last two seasons have undoubtedly been unfavorable for the best re- 
sults from Amber cane — the season of '81 particularly as to yitld in this vi- 
cinity. Notwithstanding that the season was very wet the yield of juice was 
generally small, but mostly of fine quality, my experience being that the juice 
of this year worked satisfactorily — much easier than that of last. The syrup 
from my works this year was, for a custom mill where all sorts of cane is 
handled, very uniform in quality and color. We have, in this vicinity, all 
kinds of soil, and so far as I am able as yet to judge, the very best results are 
obtained from cane grown on soil somewhat sandy, and if possible I would 
wish it be on a clover sod. The finest flavored syri p and quiokest to granu- 
late of any made at my place are those from cane grown on a clover sod. 
Growers of cane, as a general thing, I think, do not do as they should to ob- 
tain the best results. Cane is too apt to be left to be the last thing planted 
and cultivated, and I have often had men tell me that they had only culti- 
vated it once, and some not at all. Such cane cannot be satisfactory. 

In my opinion, cane should be planted just as early as the climate will 
admit, covering just as light as possible, and cultivating as soon aa the rows 
can be seen; and continue the cultivation until it is waist high, and then 
keeping the weeds out in August with a hoe. 

It should be cut when a majority of the seed is ripe enough to grow, and 
if it cannot be worked at once, should be so placed that it can have plenty of 
air, and be covered from the rays of the sun or storms ; so placed, it will 
keep well for some time. I have worked some that had been cut four weeks, 



39 



unci it was not at all soured — had, perhaps, lost a small portion of the juice. 
A matter of importance to manufacturers is a better market, or better 
prices. The name generally applied is sufficient alone to make many refuse 
to purchase. At a time when ordinary New Orleans molasses is worth 50 to 
55 cents in Chicago, at wholesale, 40 cents is considered sufficient to pay for 
*' sorghum," wheo the fact is that tbe " scrghum " (when good as it ought to 
be) is the best goods to be had in the molasses line; and it is also a fact that 
large quantities of it (some not very good) are purchased in Chicago at very 
low prices, put into large tanks, and a little very rank New Orleans molasses 
added to give a New Orleans flavor, and then it is rebarreled and sold in the 
country as genuine New Orleans molasses. Probably those who will not 
buy " sorghum " direct of the Smaker, often get it this way. There ought to 
be a manufacturers' association to work in their interests. 

Yours truly, 

J. T. HUNTINGTON, 
Delton, Wis. 



[A letter from Mr. William P. Phillips, of Lake Mills, shows that all do 
not look upon this question in the same light. Mr. Phillips writes as fol- 
lows:] 

Lake Mills, Wis , December 12, 1881. 
Prof. W. A. Henry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. : 

Dear Sir — Your circular of Nov. 10th ult., relative to the Amber cane in- 
dustry of Wisconsin, received. I am not in any manner interested in that branch 
of industry and know of no thrifty or practical farmer in this vicinity who is. 
Its production here is generally confined to a few of the smaller farms — usu- 
ally those occupied by the poorer and most thriftless class of foreign bora 
immigrants — who are willing to use an inferior syrup of their own pro- 
duction, under the delusion that their time and labor in producing it is worth 
nothing. Only a few square rods are raised on each farm; and I apprehend 
if the labor in its production and manufacture was counted at its value in 
other established practical lines of agricultural business, it would be found 
to cost many times the market value of much better syrup. In the present 
stage of development of the crystallizing process, I am unable to appreciate 
the extraordinary efforts of the national and state departments of agricul- 
ture to foster its growth, or to obtain statistics in regard to it. It occurs to 
me that there are several things connected with the agricultural interests of 
this country in which the national and state departments — with their aided 
facilities — might do great service to the country. 

We have established, partially developed, practical and profitable in- 
dustries that need the aid and benefit of the practical experiments of the de- 
partments and the protectiyon of the government. 

Take as an instance the leading agricultural industry of our state — the 
dairy industry. Base, unwholesome, disgusting adulterations of dairy pre 



40 



ducts are allowed to be manufactured and sold ; our reputation and markets 
lost, or at least damaged at home and abroad. Millions are thereby lost to 
the farmers that a few unscrupulous persons, worse than counterfeiters, may- 
defraud consumers out of a few thousands. Yet there has beep no effectual 
law devised or passed ; no effort worthy of the name been made to prevent or 
check the evil. The farmers, an unorganized class, are not capable of help- 
ing themselves. The state department of agriculture, as the only organized 
representative and guardian of the agricultural interests of the state, should 
repeatedly urge and secure the legislation required in this matter. The law on 
this subject passed last winter (chapter 40) accomplished nothing, as it was 
evidently intended it should accomplish nothing. 

Again, the science of agriculture is yet comparatively undeveloped. True, 
it has made great advances in this country during the last half century, 
mainly by the knowledge gained by the experiments of private individuals. 
Like all sciences, money generally precedes experimental demonstration. 
To the private citizen experimental demonstration is often expensive or im- 
practicable for the lack of facilities. The state department of agriculture 
should have some system of direct communication with the practical agricul- 
turists of the state, by which inquiries might be solicited and answered, and 
the necessary experiments made at the expense of the state. An agricultural 
newspaper connected with the department might answer the purpose and be 
at least partially self-sustaining. 

For instance, at the present time our stock and dairy interests require aa 
immediate answer to the question of the economy and practicability of the 
preservation and use of ensilage as food for stock. We want no floating 
rumors picked here and there, bat an authoritative answer based on the 
demonstration of reliable experiment. 

Taus indefinitely questions daily present themselves to the practical far- 
mer, and if you will inaugurate a system by which they maybe satisfactorily 
answered by the department of agriculture, you will greatly benefit the agri* 
cultural industries of the state. 

I am very respectfully, 

WM. P. PHILLIPS. 



[Prom A. J. Russell, President Wisconsin State Cane Growers' Association.] 

Janesville, Wis., December 19, 1881. 
Prof. W. A. Henry: 

Dear Sir — In reply to your favor of the 8th, I would say that we have not 
purchased cane by the ton heretofore, as there was no reliable data to en- 
able the manufacturer to determine the value of the different qualities of 
cane that was produced on different soils, and delivered at the mill in various 
conditions. 

An imperfect knowledge, and no well developed system of determining 
the true value of the canes, as delivered promiscuously from a large variety 



41 



of soils, has resulted in very serious losses to several large establishments 
who had adopted the method of purchasing cane delivered at the mill at a 
stipulated, and generally a uniform price, per ton, or by the acre, irrespective 
of the purity of the juice contained in such canes. 

There seems to be but one practical business method for a manufacturer to 
adopt for his own protection, and a greater satisfaction to the growers, and 
that is to purchase the cane by the ton. The manufacturer thf n has control 
of all the syrup and sugar, and is not brought into competition in the local 
or general market, with his own patrons who grow the cane, many of whom 
have more than sufficient to supply their own and neighbors' wants, and 
desire to dispose of the balance they have on hand as soon as possible; and 
not being (as a general rule) familiar with the ruling prices of same class of 
goo:'s in the wholesale and retail market, are imposed upon by dealers who 
are perfectly aware of the fact that tie grower has not a sufficient amount 
to ship to jobbing points, and rather than hold it, will sell it at a price to 
the local dealer generally below the actual market vif.lue, and that makes the 
price for manufacturers to the local trade, as long as the grower's syrup 
syrup holds out. 

We have determined in the future to purchase our cane by the ton, deliv- 
ered at the mill, and when so delivered will test the juice in the presence of 
the grower, and purchase it from him, same as grain and other farm products 
are purchased, according to quality. The actual value of the cane will be 
determined by the quality of the juice, and will be worth to the manufac- 
turer from $1.50 to $1.50 per ton, and even $5.00 per ton for extra cane, and 
according to the state of the syrup and sugar market, and the different de- 
grees of purity of the juice, and the amount of sucrose contained in the raw 
juice at the time of delivery of the cane at the mill. 

Our custom has been to charge the growers 25 cents per gallon, or one-half 
of the syrup. 

Our works consist of a storage room 20 by 40 feet, one story, shingle roof 
building, attached to our defecating, evaporating and finishing building, 
which is 20 by 20, two stories high, and a shed attached for cane mill, boiler 
and engine. 

Our machinery consists of boiler, engine, mill, juioe tank, juice pump, 
defecators, evaporators, finishing-pan, cooler and storage tanks. 

The juice runs directly from the mill to the juice tank, and is pumped up 
to the top floor into the defecator, and after the defecation is made, it is dis- 
charged directly into the evaporator and rapidly reduced to a thin semi- 
syrup, and is then discharged into the finishing pan and concentrated rap- 
idly, if for syrup, to a commercial density, and drawn off into the cooler, and 
almost immediately discharged into storage tanks sufficiently large to hold, 
each one of them, a little over a car load. 

When enough hBS been made for a car load, the barrels, three of them at a 
time, are rolled under faucets and filled. In that way it does not take us long 
to fill enough barrels for a car load. We then ship generally to a wholesale 



43 



market. Thus we have a continuous fall from the defecator to the barrels, 
without any rehandling of the syrups ; and by cooling the syrup at once, after 
discharging into the cooler, it prevents the syrup from darkening by being 
syrup scorched in running a succession of batches of hot syri\p into a tank 
at a high temperature of heat, so long that it darkens the syrup and lessens 
its value as a commercial article. 

Our machinery is constructed and arranged to save labor and more perfectly 
clarify the juice and hasten the evaporation in the most rapid manner. 
Our defecators are so arranged and constructed that we do not have to skim 
the juice in them, and a simple attachment we have, permits drawing the 
juice into the evaporator, as clear as water. Tbe knowledge of the fact 
gained by our own practical experience that the success of making a bright, 
glossy sugar, and a light colored, cle;ir, transparent syrup, " without " the 
use of the expensive "char-filters," depended upon a perfect defecation, and 
a rapid concentration of the juice to the required density, enabled us to 
build a style of evaporator that has produced the desired result, by enabling 
us to concentrate the juice rapidly, and at the same time liberate certain im- 
purities that can be eliminated in no other manner known to os but by the 
application of heat; and when those impurities are separated and thrown to 
the surface, they flow rapidly to the automatic skimmer and filter, where they 
are retained and forced over into the scum trough in a comparatively dry 
condition, and the strained and filtered juice passing through the filter rap- 
idly, is returned immediately to the evaporator, again clear and transparent. 
In this manner we keep up a constant current, flowing on top to the auto- 
matic skimmer and filter, and another reverse current of the filtered juice 
returning by way of the bottom of the pan, to again come in contact with 
the heat and thrown to tbe top, separating the remaining impurities, and 
keeping up a constant circulation of the juice and producing the most rapid 
evaporation that can be made, and the strainer and filter catching and retain- 
ing all the impurities of the minutest character that have been separated from 
the juice, and preventing them from again mingling with the boiling juice, 
and giving it a bad flavor and darker and cloudy appearance. All experts 
in the use of steam conceJe that in order to produce the most rapid evapora- 
tion, there must be a constant circulation, and we are very much gratified 
with the manner in which our pans have operated, as they have enabled us 
to produce an article of syrup that has sold in the wholesale markets in com- 
petition with the best products of the countr}'-, made by either the open pan 
train or vacuum pan and char filters combined. 

It saves labor, and above all things we prize it on account of its perfect 
work skimming tte juice, and not endangering a depreciation in the value of 
the syrup by being imperfectly skimmed by tired and careless help ; for with- 
out perfect skimming off of the impurities .after they have once been sepa- 
rated, to keep them from being reboiled into the syrup again, there is danger 
that more or less of the batches or strikes will be run into the storage tank 
in a cloudy condition, and consequently of bad flavor, and help to destroy 



43 



or depreciate what good aj?rup there is in tte tank; and if it is intended for 
sugar, it will te what is called a gray sugar, having a dull, dirty appearance. 
It was a case of this kind that occarred to us when we first commenced that 
suggested this plan of evaporation to me for our own safety and protection. 

Our finishing pan is similar to our evaporator, but smaller in dimensions. 

Our cooler works admirably, and is actually necessary in large works to 
cool the syrup immediately after finishing for commercial use or for sugar 
making. 

Our whole outfit, including laud, buildings and machinery, cost about 
$6,000, and has a capacity of making from eight to twelve lu'iidred gallons 
of syrup per day. The amount of syrup made per day dep( nds mostly upon 
the strength of the juice we are making. 

In regard to mj'- ideas of the future of this industry, I would say I have 
had no occasion to change my opinion expressed three years ago. I then 
made up my mind that if t e industry was conducted on strictly business 
principles there was money in it for the farmer and the manufacturer of syrup 
alone, even if they should fail to produce sugar; and my past experience has 
confirmed that belief. And your own valuable experiments made at the Uni- 
versity farm this past season, with the able assistence of the department 
chemist, Mr. Swenson, will dispel the doubts that existed in the minds of 
many, who could not possibly be persuaded to believe that sugar could be 
produced here at home, grown on our own farms. 

The many central works and refineries devoted exclusively to the sorgo 
industry, that have been put in operation in many of the states, at a cost of 
from $5,000 to $60,000 each, is evidence of the fact that the most timid and 
skeptical factor in the development of this new industry — capital — has be- 
come convinced that it is a safe investment; after the most careful and search- 
ing scrutiny have united with science and skill and are partly carrying out the 
idea of central works, that I have been laboring to establish in this state, 
and the fine results you have obtained in your experiments will hasten the 
time of its realization. 

There seems to me to be no other practical way of meeting the require- 
ments of this rapidly growing business than by establishing central works. 

A central works located at some point accessible by rail from several direc- 
tions, to facilitate receivmg raw syrups from a large amount of territory, 
and fully equipped with all the latest improved mechanical appliances 
that have been tested and proven to be well adapted to the manipulation of 
the sorgo juice, to manufacture a first class commercial syrup, and a soft 
white and yellow sugar. The central works should have a capacity of grind- 
ing from 300 to 500 acres of cane annually, to insure having a sufficient 
amount of business early in the season, so as to keep the works in operation 
as much as possible during the year. The central works could have pearly 
or quite all of their crop worked up before tbey would be able to obtain 
semi-syrup from the auxiliary works, for making sugar and refined syrups 
from. The central works should be under the management of some one who 



44 



has a practical knowledge, and is qualified to instruct operators of the auxil- 
iary works how to make the semi sj'rup and leave it in proper condition for 
the central works. 

Suitable buildings and machinery to work up 500 acres of cane, and rework 
the semi-syrup made by the auxiliary works, from 3,500 acres, into sugars 
and syrups, taking eight months in the year, would cost $25,0C0, all fitted up 
read}' for business. 

It is not practicable to haul the cane more than three miles to mill, and to 
obtain a sufficient amount of raw syrups for a central works of such a char- 
acter requires manj- auxiliary works, large and small, operated by steam or 
open fire train (steam being the cheapest and best, and destroys less sucrose, 
is preferable), to make the semisjTup, which an intelligent and careful ope- 
rator can do successfully by working under instructions from a competent 
manager of a central works. 

To fit up a steam train so all the machinery will be properly proportioned, 
to insure the least expense in manufacturing, end produce an acceptable ar- 
ticle, requires the aid of some one who has sufficient practical knowledge to 
determine, when informed of the number of acres designed to be worked, the 
size of mill required, the amount of steam-generating power required, bej'ocd 
the motive power, to evaporate the amount of juice expressed by the mill 
in less than an hour, and the number of square feet of heating surface it takes, 
with a given quantity of steam under a certain pressure, to evaporate the 
juice of a minimum strength down to semi-syrup, in the required time to 
produce the best results. 

The lack of knowledge on these very essential points has been the means 
of causing some losses and discouragements to the owners of the works, and 
the growers of the cane also. 

Id conclusion, I beg leave to say in behalf of many farmers who have 
raised the cane, and many more who desire to do so, that I have conversed 
with on this subject in many diflFerent parts of our state, that they hope our re- 
presentatives at Madison will realize what great interest it will be to the farmers 
and to the wealth of the state for ihem to make a special appropriation suf- 
ficent to enable you and your very able assistant, jMr. Swenson, the depart- 
ment chemist, to contmue the valuable experiments you have commenced 
and that have produced such splendid results, as to justify the belief that this 
new and valuable crop will be extensively raised by the farmers of this state 
in the near future. 

They feel they have a right to ask for an appropriation for their agri- 
cultural department to make intelligent and systematic experiments (which 
the farmers are unable to do), to determine for them the best soils, fertilizers, 
etc., to use in developing for tbem a crop that gives such good promise of 
being of so great a value to them and the whole state. They also feel that they 
are behind the times in this matter, as other states have realized the impor- 
tance of this crop to such an extent that they not only pay a premium on 
every pound of sugar that is made from the native cane raised in the state^ 



45 



and exempt from taxation for five years all the machinery employed in sugar 
making, but to encourage the farmers in growing cane they pay them a 
premium for every ton of cane they produce. 

Hoping that you may be permitted to continue your experiments in this 
sugar industry with a sufficient amount of money at your disposal to enable 
you to extend your field of usefulness in this and any other direction that will 
be of benefit to our farming community, I remain 

Respectfully yours, 

A. J. RUSSELL. 



[From J. D. Sherwood, Green Lake county.J 

Dartford, Gueen Lake County, Wi3., December 18, 1881. 
Prof. Henry, Madison, Wis.: 

Dear Sir — In reply to your favor of 8th ult., would say that I rolled uil^ 
tons, averaging 7° B., allowing on the basis of 50 per cent, of juice, expressed 
lOJ-2 gallons to the ton, which basis has given about 100 gallons to the acre 
on clay and sandy loam soil. The highest yield was 6^^/0-0 tons, testing 8° B., 
from one-third of an acre, raised by Wm. McConnell, of this town, being at 
the rate of 238 gallons per acre, and the lowest yiela high about 30 gallons to 
the acre, juice 3^ B. Commenced September 9 on the above yield, the seed of 
which was ripe. But most of the after working was dough to ripe. Most of 
the cane was planted after other work, and then it has paid better than any- 
thing else; but not as well as last year, owing to the peculiar season. The 
cost of working our crop of eight acres was ten days' work fitting ground; 
eight days' work planting and cultivating; five days' work thinning out; 
forty-five days work stripping and cutting, and then only one-half of it 
stripped, as it was badly lodged; twenty-four days' work and team drawing 
one and a half miles ; making ninety two days' work for 70^4 tons, testing 7° 
B., which was worked at twenty cents per gallon, and also at the halves, cost- 
ing to manufacturers, including the twenty per cent, wear on outfit costing 
about $4,000, fourteen cents per gallon, which is more than it will next, owing 
to being inexjerienced in everything. But still the consumers are well 
pleased, saying that they cannot replace it from the grocery. Pamilies arp 
using five gallons where they only used one before, with a very great diflfer- 
ence in their sugar bill to their credit ; and why not ? It is cane sugar instead of 
the insipid glucose backed with a little sorghum that is dealt out by most of 
the stores as " sugar house." There is no doubt at all in the fact that very 
soon we shall manufacture most of sugar and syrup and my very greatest 
fear is that it will be overdone, as those who raise it increase their acreage. 
I find that the best sales are made where it is kno\\^. It brings from 45 to 
60 cents per gallon. 

My outfit is a 3)2 Niles and complete steam train, with 12 horse-power 
engine and 45 horse-power boiler, from Blymer & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Burn bagasse and coal, which makes the cost about five cents per gallon. 



46 



Trusting that the above hastily condensed items are encouraging to you in 
you practical endeavors to place on a good foundation one of the best in- 
dustries of the northwest, and hoping that success will continue to crown 

your labors, I i"6maiu 

Very truly yours, 

J.D. SHERWOOD. 



[The following extract from a letter from Joseph H. Osborn, Esq.. Oshkosh, 
Wisconsin, contains some valuable suggestions:] 

" I am satisfied that the sooner cane is worked up after it is cut, the better 
•will be the character of the syrup made from it. I have no faith in the cur- 
ing process'which has been recommended frequently. 

" Again, the cane should be kept clean. Carelessness in this respect cannot 
be remedied in small works like mine. The dirt will be carried through 
into the syrap and is very damaging in its eflect. Large establishments 
might provide for taking it out, but in this case prevention is better than 
cure. 

"I am very glad that the farmer and rural manufacturer is likely to have 
the aid ot scientific gentlemen in developing this ' new industry.' 

" There are a great many things in connection with the manufacture of 
syrup, the proper knowledge of which must come from a scientific source. 
Among these is the correct method of using the saccharometer. Scarcely a 
writer in the Rural World, upon the subject of Amber cane culture and 
manufacture, but refers to the test of the juice by the saccharometer. He may 
tell how he planted the seed aod when; Jiow be cared for the crop, and how 
lie harvested it; but when he says the juice tested T B, or 13' B., he docs not 
state what were the conditions of the test. Did he test the juice as it run 
from the machine? If so, did he also test it by the thermometer ? If it was 
not 60° by the thermometer, did he take means to make it so? If yea, how 
did he proceed ? 

"Again, if he tested the juice by the saccharometer as it came directly 
from the mill, and also by the thermometer, even if the latter indicated 60', 
did he allow the juice "to stand an hour and test it again; and, if so, was the 
result the same ? I think not; my experience is that there will be several 
degrees diflerence. If Prof. Collier stated that juice tested a certain degree, 
I should of course know that the conditions of test were correct; but from 
my own experience, I doubt very much if all the writers for the Rural World 
•who state results by the saccharometer, can be relied upon as having secured 
the correct conditions necessary for the test. It seems to me that correct in- 
formation upon the correct use of the saccharometer should be given in a 
popular way for the benefits of those engaged in this Amber cane business. 

" Again, in regard to'^the use of lime. Are we to accept it for a settled fact 
that if the cold juice is tested with lime, that it can be allowed to stand 
•without injury for a length of time. (If so, how long?) If I remember 

correctly, this statement was made by Trof. , of Illinois, through 

the Rural World. 



47 

" Again, granted tbat lime is used with the coM juice, and heat subsequently 
applied to aid defecation, should the evaporation be proceeded with at once, 
or could the warm juice be allowed to stand any length of time; and if so, 
would it aid the clarification, or should, or could some additional method 
of clarification be used before commencing the evaporation? 

" Again, in years gone by, when the making of sugar from corn stalks 
was talked about, the removal of the young ears of corn was said to be 
essential to develop the greatest amount of sugar in the stalk. Question. 
Would science consider that the removal of the young seed tuft from the 
cane would add to the strength of the cane juice? Your circular called for 
facts. I have given mostly suggestions, or at least I hopa you will consider, 
and treat them as such. Truly yours, 

"JOSEPB H. ORTON." 



[To those in doubt as to whether it pays to grow cane, I would refer the 
following letter sent me by one of our careful farmers. It is the most com- 
plete statement I have yet seen and deserves careful attention:] 

Kenosha, Wis., February 26, 1881. 
Professor W. A. Henry, Madison, Wisconsin: 

Dear Sir — I herewith give you the result of growing one acre of Amber 
sugar cane in 1880. The plot of ground is composed of black muck, verg- 
ing into a sand loam, two-thirds of the plot being the former and one-third 
the latter. There were about four rods of \evj low ground on which the 
cane grew very rank and lodged. There was no waste ground. In 1879 it 
was heavily manured and a very heavy growth of drilled fodder corn raised, 
and plowed that fall. The ground was dragged and marked in rows one 
way, three feet and a half apart, extending north and south, on May 20th, 
and on May 21st it was planted by hand, dropping the seed in the marks 
made by the marker and covering with the foot. Two pounds of seed were 
used. One-half of it was planted from twelve to eighteen inches apart and 
tbe other from twelve to twenty five inches. I think it would average seven 
or eight seed to a hill. It was then rolled, and cultivated twice with a two- 
borse cultivator. One man spent one day on the piece with the hoe cutting 
out grass between the hills. This would not have been necessary had the 
seed come up evenly. One-third of the piece was dry and the seed not being 
covered any deeper, did not come up for two weeks, hence could not culti- 
vate it evenly. It was stripped by hand at intervals from September 14th to 
September 27th, cut and bound September 28th, drawn to mill on the 29th 
and 30th, carefully weighed and piled. Total weight, 13^§f§ tons. 

The first half, or that planted the thickest, weighed about eight tons, and 
the other half ^Hlo tons. The cane was made up October 7th, and yielded 
one hundred and seventy gallons of syrup, weighing eleven and a half 
pounds to the gallon. The juice tested 1% by the saccharometer and was 
boiled down to forty. There was one load of leaves saved for fodder, and 



48 



three double boxes of seed which was fed to the pigs. I estimate the value 
of the crop as follows: 



Dr. 



To interest on land $2 00 

half day's work plowing.. . 1 50 

dragging and marking 50 

two pounds seed 70 

planting 1 00 

hoeing 100 

cultivating 1 00 

stripping 6 00 

cutting and binding 3 00 

topping and hauling 10 30 

hauling fodder and feed . . 1 00 

4 barrels at 75c 3 00 

making 170 gallons at 20c. . 34 00 

$65 00 
Balance 30 00 

$95 00 



Cr. 



By fodder $10 00 

170 gallons syrup at 50c . . 85 00 

$95 00 



M. O. MYRICK. 



[The following letter from H. W. Small & Co., Chicago, will certainly be 
read with interest. It should be remembered that from the peculiar line of 
business of this company — that of supplying the wholesale trade with syr- 
ups and molasses — it is in a position unequalled by any other company in 
the west to judge upon the true merits of the case:] 

Chicago, December 28, 1881. 
Prof. W. A. Henry, Madison: 

Dear Sir — We have your favor of 24th, with samples of sugar and syrup 
before us. You have obtained a remarkable yield from your experimental 
one-fifth acre. One thousand pounds of good brown sugar and eighty gal- 
Ions of syrup per acre would be a very profitable crop for any of our farmers, 
and we read with very much interest your statement that the analysis of the 
cane showed nearly twice the quantity of sugar that you obtained; or, 
in other words, that the processes for extracting the sugar from Amber cane 
is so imperfectly understood, at present, even by our most scientific men, 
that nearly one-half the yield is lost. Well, this only confirms our opinion 
the more strongly that the profitable raising of Amber cane in the north, for 
the manufacture of sugar and syrup or molasses, is no longer an experiment, 
but an assured fact; and, although but just in its infancy, enough has been 
already done to show that skill in its mamifacture is the one great require- 
ment. 

Now, we not only would not advise every farraer to rush in blindly 
and plant a few quarter acres of Amber cane, bat we would advise that they 



49 



do no such thing until you, who are giving so much time and attention to 
this business, learn how, and " lorite a hook, " of instructions, so that every 
farmer may know how, without the possibility of a failure. Then " exit " 
New Orleans, " enter " Amber. 

We have received samples of Amber molasses, this season, that compare 
favorably with " I»[ew Orleans," while other lots have been very poor; and 
the difference, so far as we can learn, was not so much in the soil, or climate, 
or seed, as in the " modus operandi " of manufacture. 

The sugar is there; the molasses is there. How to secure it, after it is 
grown and ready for the mill, is the one great question for you scientific 
men. We sincerely hope that the state will continue to foster this industry 
until it is thoroughly understood, so that every farmer can grow his own 
sugar and molasses at one quarter the present price of New Orleans, and, 
what may be even better than that, Tcnoio that they have an absolutely pure 
article. 

The better grades of Amber are slowly overcoming the old prejudice 
against sorghum, and we beliove the time not far distant when a choice 
Amber molasses will be more sought after than a somewhat doubtful mix- 
ture of New Orleans glucose and syrup. 

Wishing you every success, we are 

Yours truly, 

H. W. SMALL & CO. 



[The following letter will show what the state of New Jersey has done: 
Mr. Bishop, ss Chief of the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, has a rare 
chance of getting at reliable facts in this matter] 

Office of Bureau op Statistics of Labor and Industries, 

Trenton, N. J., January 31, 1882. 

Dear Sir:— Yont valued favor of the 27th is at hand, but as my 4tb annual 
report is now in tiie hands of the printer and proof coming in daily, I can 
only give a hasty sketch of what has been done in New Jersey in the manu- 
facture of sugar. 

At the last session of the legislature an act was passed entitled " an act to 
encourage the manufacture of sugar in the state of New Jersey," approved 
February 16, 1881 (a copy of the act will be found on page 14 of the Intro- 
duction in the 3d annual report of the Bureau). 

Mr. John Hitgerth, a practical sugar manufacturer of Philadelphia, had 
been experimenting for about two years with the juice of the sorghum, hav- 
ing contracted with some farmer of South Jersey to raise the cane for him. 
He put up a horse power mill to crush the cane, and putting the juice in 
casks, sent it to his works for treatment, and became fully satisfied from his 
experiment that sugar in paying quantities could be made from the best 
Tarieties of sorghum cane, 
d 



60 

In the spring of 1881, Mr. H. went into Cape May county, New Jersey, and 
induced a number of farmers to put in sorghum as a farm crop, and entered 
into contracts covering about sixty acres, to talse the crop of cane, stripped 
of its leaves and top, at two dollars per ton of 2,000 pounds, delfvered at any 
point on the West Jersey railroad, be paying the freight to his factory. The 
estimate made for the farmers was in substance as follows: 

Average tons cane per acre, ten, at $2 per ton $20 OO 

8tate bounty, $1 per acre 10 00 

35 bushels seed, worth, at lowest estimate, 50 cents per bushel 17 50 

Total $47 50 



Thus giving to the farmer $47.50 per acre for his crop, and leaving him the 
leaves, etc., to use for fodder. 

The season being one of unusual drought, the average, as nearly as I can 
estimate, was only 8 tons to the acre; but the seed seemed to be but slightly 
aflected in yield, and gave S}4 bushels to the ton, selling for 75 cents per 
bushel of 60 pounds. It is considered for feeding purposes fully equal'to 
Indian corn. 

Having thus contracted for his cane, Mr. H. proceeded in the spring to 
erect a factory at Rio Grande, a station on the W. J. R. R., about 6 miles from 
Cape May. The factory was filled up with the usual machinery for making 
sugar from the juice: steam evaporators, defecators, vacuum pan, centrifu- 
gals, etc. A large mill for crushing the cane was placed on the first floor, 
the whole being run by an engine of 200-horse power. The total cost was 
$65,000. During the busy season the mill was run twenty hours a day, and 
used 200 tons cane, turning out 15 000 pounds good merchantable sugar, 
worth 8 cents pe^ pound in Philadelphia. 

The state has paid a bounty on 1,500 tons cane to the present, distributed 
among 50 farmers. Applications for bounty are coming in ever7 week, and 
doubtless many who raised small amounts will never apply. With regard to 
the number of pounds of sugar made, although Mr. Hitaerth is entitled to a 
bounty of one cent per pound, he declines filing a certificate certifying to 
the amount; therefore when I say it was not far from 20,000 pounds it is only 
an estimate. What the farmers of New Jersey think about the cultivation of 
sorghum as a crop, may be judged from the following quotations from their 
letters: 

" I threshed about 1,500 bushels of seed, the yield of cane being 6 to 8 tons 
per acre; it will yield from 3 to 3% bushels to the ton, and is selling here 
for 70 cents per bushel. It is superior to corn lor fattening hogs and chick- 
ens, and is a first class feed for cattle as it makes plenty of milk." 

"It is no more expensive to cultivate than corn; the harvesting may cost 
about 10 per cent, more." 

"My experience has led me to believe that it is a profitable crop, conse- 
quently I am going to plant 200 acres the coming year." 

I have thus given briefly and in haste the points named in your letter, and 



51 

hope the state of Wisconsin may be induced to promote the rapid develop- 
ment of an industry whose future is so bright, and the fruits of which will 
bring such prosperity to our agriculturists. 

Yours very truly, 

JOHN BISHOP, 

Chief. 



52 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY IN FRANCE. 

I would invite the attejDtion of those who are unwilling to give 
Amber cane a fair trial, to consider the early history and present 
<3ondition of the beet sugar industry in France. 

It would appear most probable that slave labor in the tropics 
^ith such a plant for elaborating the sugar as the Ribbon cane, 
•would foiever prevent peasant labor on high priced land which 
ihad been for centuries under cultivation, from making such a 
plant as the beet yield a profitable income, yet by the most rigid 
applications of science combined with careful management of 
machinery and strictest economy in saving all by-products, 
France is now producing over fifty million dollars worth of sugar 
per year. 

I present the following facts taken from Dr. McMurtrie's report 
on the culture of the sugar beet : ^ 

In 1797 Karl Franz Achard announced to the Institute of 
France that he was able to manufacture sugar from the beet, at a 
cost not exceeding six cents per pound. Though his statement 
was met with ridicule, a committee was appointed by the Insti- 
tute to examine his methods and repeat his experiments. 

They reported as a result of these tests that a good raw 
sugar could be manufactured for about eighteen cents per 
pound, though this figure might be somewhat reduced by im- 
proved methods. This report dampened the ardor of the French, 
and nothing was done by them for a time, but in Germany, 
Achard and Baron de Koppy each erected works and made con- 
siderable quantities of sugar. 

The famous Berlin and Milan decrees, which excluded all 
products of English manufacture, so enhanced the prices of 
sugar in Europe that these manufactories paid good profits, and 
this coupled with need, again drew the attention of the French to 
the solution of the problem. The enthusiasm of the Emperor 

' Report on [the culture of the sugar beet and the manufacture of sugar 
therefrom in France and the United States, by Wm. McMurtrie, E. M. Ph. D. 
Washington, 1880. 



63 

JSTapoleon was enlisted at this time, and nothing can better ex- 
hibit the indomitable energy which he showed in every act than 
his first decree relative to the sugar and indigo industries. I give 
a copy of it entire : 

Palace of the Tuilleries, March 25, 1811. 
Napoleon, Emperor of the French, etc. : 

Upon a report of a commission appointed to examine the means proposed 
to naturalize, upon the continent of our empire, sugar, indigo, cotton and 
divers other productions of the two Indies : 

Upon presentation made to us of a considerable quantity of beet-root 
sugar, refined, crystallized and possessing all the qualities and properties of 
cane sugar: 

Upo 1 the presentation made to us at the council of commerce of a great 
quantity of indigo, extracted from the plant woad, which our departments 
of the south produce in abundance, and which indigo has all the properties 
of the indigo of the two Indies: 

Having reason to expect that by means of these two precious discoveries 
our empire will shortly be relieved from an exportatioa of 100,000,000 francs 
($20,000,000) hitherto necessary for supplying the consumption of sugar and 
indigo: 

We have decreed and do decree as follows : 

Article 1. Plantations of beet root proper for the manufacture of sugar 
shall be formed in our empire to the extent of 32,000 hectares (70,040 acres). 

Article 2. Our minister of the interior shall distribute 32.000 hectares 
among the departments of our empire, taking into consideration thos"; 
departments where the culture of tobacco may be established, and those 
which from the nature of the soil may be more favorable to the culture of 
the beet root. 

Article 3. Our prefects shall take measures that the numbar of hectares 
allotted to their respective departments sbaM be in full cultivation this year, 
or next year at the latest. 

Article 4. A certain number of hectares shall be laid out in our empire in 
plantations of woad, proper to the manufacture of indigo, in the proportion 
necessary for our manufacture. 

Article 5. Our minister of the interior shall distribute the said number 
among the departments of our empire, taking into particular cousideration 
the departments beyond the Alps and those of the south, where this branch 
of industry formerly made great progress. 

Article 6. Our prefects shall lake measures that the number of hectares 
allotted to their departments shall be in full cultivation next year at the 
latest. 

Article 7. The commission shall, before the 4th of May, fix upon the most 
convenient places for the establishment of six experimental schools for giv- 
ing instruction in the manufacture of beet-root sugar, conformably to the 
processes of chemists. • 



54 



Article 8. The commission shall also, before the same date, fix upon the 
places most convenient for the establishment of four experimental schools 
for giving instruction upon the extraction of indigo from the lees of woad, 
according to the processes approved by the commission. 

Article 9. Our minister of the interior shall make Itnown to the prefects 
in what places these schools shall be formed, and to which pupils destined 
to this manufacture should be sent. Proprietors and farmers who may wish 
to attend a course of lectures in said experimental schools shall be admitted 
thereto. 

Article 10. Messrs. Barruel and Isuard, who have brought to perfection 
the processes for extracting sugar from the beet root, shall be specially 
charged with the direction of two of the six experimental schools. 

Article 11. Our minister of the interior shall, in consequence, cause to be 
paid the sum necessary for the formation of the said establishment, which 
sum shall be charged to the fund of 1,000,000 francs ($200,000) in the budget 
of 1811, at the disposal of the said minister for the encouragement of beet- 
root sugar and woad indigo. 

Article 12. From 1st of January, 1813, and upon a report to be made to 
our minister of the interior, t!. e sugar and indigo of the two Indies shall be 
prohibited, and considered as merchandise of English manufacture, or pro- 
ceeding from English commerce. 

Article 13. Our minister of the interior is charged with the execution of 
the present decree. 

The following decree shows that Id 1812 the subject was still 
under consideration : 

SECTION I.— School for Manufacture of Beet-Eoot Sugar. 

Article 1. The factory of Messrs. Barruel and Chappe'et, plain of Vertus, 
and those established at Wacheuheim, department of Mont-Tonnere, at 
Douai, Strasbourg, and at Castelnaudary, are established as special schools 
for the manufacture of beet-root sugar. 

Article 2. One hundred students shall be attached to these schools, viz: 
40 at that of Messrs. Barruel and Chappelet, and 15 at each of those at 
Wachenheim, Douai, Strasbourg, and Castelnaudary; total, 100. 

Article 3. These students shall be selected from among the students in 
medicine, pharmacy and chemistry. 

Section II. — Culture of Beets. 

Article 4. Our minister of the interior shall talie measures to cause to be 
sown throughout our empire 100,000 metrical arpents of beets. The condi- 
tions of the distribution of the culture shall be printed and sent to the pre- 
fects previous to February 15. 

Section III. — Manufacture. 

Article 5. There shall be accorded throughout our entire empire 500 
licenses for the manufacture of beetroot sugar. 



55 



Article 6. These licenses shall be accorded of preference to all proprietors 
of factories and refineries ; to all who have manufactured sugar during 1811; 
to all who have made preparations and expenditures for the establishment of 
factories for work in 1812, 

Article 7. Of these licenses there shall be accorded of right one to each 
department. 

Article 8. Prefects shall write to all proprietors of refineries in order that 
they make their submissions for the establishment of said factories at the 
close of 1812. In default of the proprietors of refineries to have made their 
submissions prior to March 15, or at the latest April 15, they shall be con- 
sidered as having renounced the preference accorded them. 

Article 9. Licenses shall include an obligation on the part of those who 
shall receive them to establish a factory capable of producing at least 10,000 
kilograms (22,000 pounds) of raw sugar in 1812-13. 

Article 10. Each individual who, having received a license, shall have 
actually manufactured nearly 10,000 kilograms of raw sugar resulting from 
the crop of 1812 to 1813, shall have the privilege and assurance, by way of 
encouragement, of being subject to no tax or octroi upon the product of 
his manufacture for the space of four years. 

Article 11. Each individual who shall perfect the manufacture of sugar 
in such a manner as to obtain a larger quantity from the beet; or who shall 
invent a more simple and economical method of manufacture, shall obtain a 
license for a longer time, with the assurance that no duty or octroi shall be 
placed upon the product of his manufacture during the continuance of his 
license. 

Section IV. — Creation of Four Imperial Factories. 

Article 13. Four imperial btet-sugar factories shall be established in 1813 
under the care of our minister of the interior. 

Article 13. These factories shall be so arranged as to produce with the 
crop of 1812 to 1813, 2,000,000 kilograms of raw sugar. 

Under this stimulus in 1813, 334 factories prepared 7,700,000 
pounds of b&et sugar. The industry developed rapidly under the 
fostering care of Napoleon, until his downfall. With the over- 
throw of the monarch, all of the factories were wrecked except 
one. The high duties imposed by the new government soon 
again made the business profitable ; factories were again opened, 
and from that time to the present it has received no check of 
serious importance. The following table will show the condition 
of this industry in 1873, 1874 and 1875 : 



56 



Number of factories 

Laborers employed 

Force employed, horsepower 

Production of sugar, tons 

Production of molasses, tons. 
Total value of production — 



1873. 



5:« 

73,485 

62,819 

409,916 

231,770 

$54,185,704 



1874. 



548 

74. 875 

69,999 

423,223 

214.017 

$54,294,968 



1875. 



539' 

68, 582 

71,335 

463, 122 

199, 34& 

$54,425,75T 



The tax levied by the French government upon home manu- 
factured raw sugar is 73.50 francs ($14.90) per 100 kilosjrams 
(220 pounds). The duty upon sugar imported in France varies 
from 65.52 to 71.76 francs per 100 kilograms, according to qual- 
ity, etc. 

In 1877 and 1878 the sum realized from taxes on home made 
sugar by the government of France was as follows : 



Kinds of Sugars. 


1877. 


1878. 




$7,540,800 

6,886,000 

22,088,400 


$6, 768, 760' 




8,642,000 


Duty on manufacture of indigenous sugars 


17, 035, 600 


Total 


$36,515,200 


• $32,446,360 









The cost of manufacturing sugar from beets is given by Dr. 
McMurtrie in the following table : 

"Statement of expenses and receipts resulticg from the transformation of 
one ton (2,200 pound.s) of beets into raw sugar, Nos. 7-9 to No. 13, molasses- 
at 40° and other residues — the beets delivered at the works, the sugars deliv- 
ered at station, molasses and other residues taken at the works." 

[The figures of the tables give the average of four factories, producing 
annually about 10,000 sacks (220 pounds each) of raw sugar, and working 
by means of new processes and machinery, double saturation of the juice, 
triple effect for the evaporation and boiling for crystallization {ciiite en grains) 
of the syrups.] 



57 



Detail of Expenses for One Ton (2,200 lbs.) of Beets. 



NomenclatUTe of the principal 
general costs of manufacture. 



1873-74, 



1874-75. 



1875-76, 



1876-77. 



1877-78. 



Purchase of beets 

Pay of laborers 

Employees 

Incidentals 

Patent rights 

Kepair of machinery 

Duty 1 

Transportation 

Oils, grease, etc 

Animal charcoal 

Insurance of workmen 

Discounts, interests, commission 

Limestone and coke 

Coal 

Woolen sacks, sugar sacks, etc . 



$4 00 
76 
18 
02 
08 
41 



09 

74 
17 
02 
07 
39 



$4 07 
77 
16 
02 
07 
43 



76 
71 
18 
02 
08 
47 



29 
08 
08 
02 
24 
09 
68 
16 



Total ' $7 09 



31 
07 
08 
02 
20 
07 
67 
15 



27 
07 
07 
01 
]9 
08 
70 
10 



23 
07 
06 
01 
28 
09 
56 
16 



$7 05 



$7 07 



$6 68 



$4 11 
72 
18 
02 
08 
33 



23 
07 
0& 
01 
27 
09 
56 
16 



$6 89 



'The duty on sugar, equivalent to 73.50 francs, $14.90 per 100 kilograms 

(220 lbs.) of raw sugar, is not comprised in the figures noted here, neither in 

the expenses nor in the receipts. The public treasury accords four months 

of credit to the refiner, who is charged with the payment of this tax, and it 

is therefore not inciuded in the price of sale. 



58 



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59 



Eecapitulation. 



[In this statement is not included the interest upon the joint capital, this 
capital being variable according as the works are old or new.] 



Total value of products. 

Total expenses 

Di flcrence in loss 

Diflerence in profits 



1873-74. 1874-75. 



$7 90 
7 08 



83 



$8 27 
7 06 



1 22 



1875-76. 



$6 67 

7 06 

39 



1876-77. 



f7 61 
G C8 



93 



1877-78. 



$8 99 
6 88 



2 12 



60 



THE ENSILAGE OF FODDERS. 

THE SILO. 

Conformatorjto the act of the legislature, a silo was built upon 
the farm for the preservation of green fodders. It is 30 feet long, 
15 feet wide, outside measurement, and 15 feet deep. The walls 
are 18 inches thick, the material .being pandstone rubble, laid in 
strong mortar. It stands about half under ground with the end 
joining the main barn. There are no doors or openings of any 
kind on the sides or bottom, which are well coated with Milwau- 
kee cement, so as to be air and water tight. Over this silo or 
cellar is a low frame building with the sides 6 feet in height and 
11 feet to the peak of the roof. Inside of the superstructure is 
a Sfoot wall of 2iach plank set on edge running all around it, 
forming a continuation of the stone wall of the silo proper. By 
means of this plank wall the silo can be filled with ensilage three 
feet higher than the stone wall. Yet upon settling, all the ensi- 
lage will be pressed within the silo proper. 

From this description it will be seen that the silo is simply a 
stone cellar with cemented walls, or we may term it an immense 
cistern. Over this cellar is placed a low building to keep out 
rain. The silo is entered from the main barn floor, which is on a 
level with the top of the stone wall, a doorway being cut in the 
side of the barn for this purpose. A ladder is used to reach the 
bottom of the silo. The ensilage is passed out through large 
double doors at the end of the superstructure. 

The best location for the silo is of course on a side hill with 
only an end exposed, if possible, and in this, near the bottom, to 
have a door for taking out the ensilage. We unfortunately have 
no sidehill near the farm buildings, and as the silo could be put 
half- under ground, ii seemed the cheapest and most convenient 
to have no opening on the sides, but to lift the ensilage from the 
bottom clear over the top of the wall by horse power. This pro- 
cess will be de?cribed later. 

The stone for the silo was drawn from the quarry at odd times 
by the farm teams, and this expense, together with the cost of ex- 
cavation, are not included in the account of expenses. 



61 



The other items are as follows : 

%') days' work by masons at $3 $75 OO 

12 days' labor at . 11.75 21 oO 

15 days' labor at $1.25 18 75 

21 cords of stone at $2.50 52 50 

13 barrels cement at $2 26 00 

70 bushels lime at 2S cents 19 60 

Frame building over silo, etc 119 41 

Ensilage cutter, including freight 81 27 

Total $413 42 

All this was done in the best manner possible, as it was desirable 
to have no failure from an unfit building. The floor was made 
of small boulders bedded in cement and is nearly six inches thick, 
as I was greatly afraid that during wet weather water would be 
forced up through the bottom. The walls inside are cemented so 
■ ag to be smooth, and offer no projections on which the planks 
covering the ensilage might catch in settling. 

The cost of this silo is no criterion for others. Any farmer 
can soon ascertain what one will cost him by asking " what will 
a cellar of desired size, built of stone, brick or concrete, and 
cemented inside, cost me here on my own farm ? " 

Add to this the cost of some kind of roof to keep out rain, and 
enough two inch plank to make a covering over the ensilage 
■when the silo is filled, and you have the cost of the silo. These 
conditions vary, of course, with every section and farm. 

As this silo stands about half above ground, the ensilage is in 
danger of freezing in winter. This I shall obviate by stacking 
bundles of corn fodder about the building on the three exposed 
sides. 

FODDERS FOR ENSILAGE. 

The crop relied upon for filling the silo was fodder corn. 

The first plot of fodder corn was about two and a half acres in 
extent. The soil was a low cla}'- alluvial, not sufficiently elevated 
above Fourth Lake to yield the largest crops. The ground had 
been in corn for several seasons past, and was fertilized in the 
spring with barnyard manure, at the rate of twelve loads per 
acre. The plot would have brought from thirty-five to forty 
bushels of shelled corn per acre this season, I should judge, had 
it been planted to that crop. 



62 



The ground was prepared as for corn, furrowed thirty inches 
apart, and corn dropped in the rows at the rate of seventy- five 
grains per rod, and carefully covered by hand. The seed was a 
variety of yellow dent grown u{)on the farm for several past. The 
stalks of the variety are somewhat smaller than those from states 
south of Wisconsin. 

The planting was done May 27th. This plot was very promis- 
ing at first and was pronounced the best on the place by visitors at 
the farm the last of June. It was cultivated three times and was 
entirely free from weeds at cutting time. In August some of the 
corn plants turned an unhealthy yellow color, and the corn when 
tasseled was not over six and a half or seven feet high. No cause 
can be given for this condition, except that the plants were too 
much crowded. No ears formed upon the stalks, except very 
small ones in a few cases. At cutting time the small stalks were 
as sweet as Amber cane stalks and filled with juice. Owing to 
the drought then prevailing some of the lower leaves were dead. 
The second plot of ensilage corn was grown upon land which had 
yielded over eighty bushels of shelled corn per acre the year pre- 
vious. It was fertilized with rotted barnyard manure at the rate 
of thirty small two-horse wagon loads to the acre. The ground 
was in perfect condition at planting time. Rows were marked 
two feet apart, and in these corn was dropped, three grains to the 
hill, ihe hills being two feet apart. It was cultivated three times, 
and the few weeds that were not thus destroyed were removed 
with the hoe. 

About three acres in third plot were planted with White Austra- 
lian flint corn, a variety grown upon the farm for several years 
past. The growth of the corn on this plot was the most perfect I 
ever saw in all respects. It stood perfectly even in thickness and 
height over the whole plot. The suckers were numerous and the 
leaves green and healthy from ground to tassel. The main stalks 
stood between eight and nine feet high. Although seemingly as 
thick as it could be and yet keep its deep green color, quite good 
sized ears of corn formed, and these while in the milk were cut up 
with the stalks and went into the silo. The third plot was simi- 
lar in all respects to the second, except that it was planted with a 



63 



southern variety of corn called the "Evans," obtained from the 
Missouri State University through the kindness'of Prof, S. M.Tracy. 
The stalks on this plot stood between eleven and twelve feet high ; 
were leafy from ground to tassel ; were coarse, and the few ears 
that started were borne from six to eight feet from the ground. 
This piece was planted in the same manner as the flint corn just 
mentioned. 

YIELD OF ENSILAGE PER ACRE. 

Such marvelous stories have been told of the yield of fodder 
corn for ensilage that cautious farmers have looked upon the 
whole question of ensilage as one possessing entirely too much 
fiction for practical purposes. Fields of fodder corn have been 
estimated to yield twenty, forty, sixty and even seventy tons per 
acre, as we read in the papers. To help settle the question of 
yield, therefore, the fodder from each plot was weighed. Every 
load of fodder corn before being driven to the cutter was carefully 
weighed, and the results as given are the totals of these weights. 
On the first and second plots all the fodder corn was not converted 
into ensilage. The yield given is, therefore, for part of the field 
only. 

From the first plot, or that planted with yellow dent corn in drills, 
the yield from 2.22 acres was 53,762 pounds. This would give 
24,212 pounds per acre, or about twelve tons. 

From the second plot, planted with flint corn, 2.6 acres of fod- 
der corn were removed, weighing 86,570 pounds, or 33,296 pounds 
per acre. This gives about 161- tons per acre. In the third plot 
there was only .15 of an acre, which yielded 6,420 pounds of fod- 
der corn, or 42,800 pounds, about 21 tons per acre. A single 
stalk from this plot weighed five pounds, and was twelve feet in 
length. I do not doubt but that larger crops of fodder corn can 
be raised than the above, but I maintain that the average of the 
three will be up to the average crop on most farms. 

FILLING THE SILO. 

After being weighed the loads of fodder were driven into the 
barn and the fresh green fodder was run through the Cycle ensi- 
lage cutter, which was placed on the barn floor so that the fodder 
passed from the cutter through a spout into the silo. It has been 



64 

stated by writers on ensilage that two horses in a tread power will 
cut four tons of fodder per hour, into three-fourths inch length. 
I think this statement misleading, though of course different ma- 
chines will give different results. Our farm teams have worked 
for many years past in a tread power, sawing about two hundred 
cords of wood each fall, with a buzz saw. A'Ve found this power 
insufficient to run the cutter at a good speed. We were, in fact, 
obliged to stop work, close up the silo and procure a sweep power, 
such as is used for running threshing machines, to enable us to 
prosecute the work with any rapidity. Four horses, with such a 
power, will do the work in proper manner. When doing the best 
work, with knives sharp and everything in order, we cut 120 
pounds of three-fourths inch ensilage per minute, from actual tests. 

We are using the same sweep power this winter for sawing 
wood that was used for the ensilage, and I judge from the way 
the teams draw, that it requires as much power to saw one cord 
of dry, four-foot maple wood into three lengths as it does to cut 
three tons of fodder corn into three-fourths inch ensilage. By 
using the threshing machine horse power, the farmer is in con- 
dition to crowd the work, which if it drags is most annoying and 
expensive. It requires about as many hands as for threshing 
grain and is as hard work in every way. 

The ensilage, as fast as it passed from the cutter into the silo, 
was spread and tramped down, but no material of any kind, as 
salt or lime, was used to preserve it. While filling the silo we 
had many visitors, as notices were placed in the city papers and 
several hundred postal cards were sent inviting prominent farmers 
from different pans of the state to witness our work. The com- 
ments were as varied almost as the visitors. As the weather was 
very warm the ensilage heated rapidly, and when the visitor would 
run his hand down into the mass of damp-cut fodder and find it 
so hot as to be uncomfortable, there would sometimes come a 
shake of the bead and prediction of failure of some sort. "It 
will burn the barn up ," " May keep below but will not on top ;" 
" Think it will be all right above where it can get some air, but 
below it will make a nice manure heap," 

After putting in the fodder from the three plots enumerated, to- 



65 



gether with 2,470 pounds of sweet corn and 1,000 pounds of 
Honduras sugar cane, and tramping all down firmly, we found 
that the silo was filled to within one foot of the top. That is, 
150,222 pounds of the cut fodder occupied a space of 4,536 cubic 
feet, or 83 pounds per cubic foot. Of course the space occupied 
varies greatly with the depth of the fodder, the fineness to which 
it is cut and the thoroughness with which it is tramped. 

CLOVER FOR ENSILAGE. 

As soon as the cutter stopped, a team was hitched to the mower 
and we cut all the second growth clover we could get. As fast as 
a load was cut it was drawn to the silo and put in without having 
been run through the cutter. In this way five tons were put in. 
One of the loads of green clover was drawn in during a rain 
storm, and one load stood on the wagon out of doors in the rain 
over night, and water was dropping from it when pitched into the 
silo the next morning. 

COVERING THE SILO. 

After putting in the green clover it was carefully spread and 
trampled down in order that it might settle evenly. When this 
had been done the clover extended about half way up the plank 
wall ; that is, it was about two and a half feet thick. Directly 
upon the clover were placed two-inch plank ten inches wide, ex- 
tending across the silo from wall to wall. The plank were cut 
about an inch shorter than the silo was wide, so that in settling 
there should be no danger of binding. 

Having laid the plank over the clover like a floor, we proceeded 
at once to put on stone which had been previously collected from 
the fields about the farm and brought to the barn and piled up 
after having been weighed. Loads of these were drawn directly 
into the barn, and the boulders were passed into the silo through 
the same opening that the ensilage had been passed in at. Four 
men with one team placed eighteen tons of stone in half a day. 
This gave a weight of 112 pounds to the square foot. It is proba- 
ble that a less weight would have done, but the clover was show- 
ing great heat and was so long and matted that it could not be 
easily compressed like short cut corn stalks. Knowing that if the 

6 



G6 

nir could be forced oat the heating mu?t cease, we endeavored to 
make the check effective as soon as passible. 

The use of pressure does not seem to be understood by some. 
It is best explained when we reflect that the heating.of any ma- 
terial, as of green fodder, can only go on where air is supplied. 
Cut off the supply of air and the heating, must cease, just as cer- 
tainly as a fire in a furnace will die out if the supply of air is cut 
off. Again, to many the stone weights used are a great bugbear, 
and they would offer a set of jackscrews as something more to 
the purpose. To all such I would say that the stone need give 
no trouble, for it is the smallest part of the work to place them. 
When not obtainable use cordwood or sacks of grain. 

After closing up the silo as described, there were scarcely any 
signs of the change going oa in its contents. Occasionally there 
was a slightly acid odor disceruable, but this was not at all 
marked. The contents settled until the top of the clover layer 
was four feet below the top of the stone wall. The clover layer 
was about a foot thick. We see, then, that the cut corn fodder 
which, when fresh, filled the silo fourteen feet, sunk to ten feet. 

COST OF FILLING THE SILO. 

The cost of filling the silo was as follows : 

dS clays' work, at$L50 $57 00 

8 days' work, at 1.75 14 00 

15 days' work, at 1.25 18 75 

15 days' teams, at $3 00 45 00 

Total $133 75 



The time occupied in the work was about six days. As eighty 
tons of clover and fodder went into the silo, the cost per ton for 
puttl~:g it in is over one dollar and sixty cents. This is fully 
twice what it should have be^n, owing to the most aggravating 
blunders. In the first place the Cycle ensilage cutter from the 
New York Plow Company failed to work almost as soon as 
it was started, and caused a loss of over half a day, while a 
mechanic was employed to fix it. Again, relying upon the state- 
ment that two horses in a tread power were sufficient to work it, 
we made use of a power employed in sawing wood for the univer- 



67 

sitj, and, after nearly kiliin^ V\e t.ei,m, abandoned it, and seured 
a threshiog machine sweep power on which four horses were used. 

In making these changes so much time was required that we 
were obliged to place the plank over ensilage already cut, and 
weight them down with stone, as though we had finished. Upon 
resuming work again, the stone and plank had to be removed, of 
course. Beside the^e annoyances, we found that the knives of 
the cutter were of such poor quality that they required grinding 
every three or four hours. 

If the experiences of the farm are of any avail in helping oth- 
ers to be cautious and to make due allowance for newspaper ac- 
counts and manufacturers' statements, our labors will not have 
been in vain. It must be remembered that to handle three or 
four tons of long green fodder every hour, from field to wagon 
and from wagon to cutter, and thence into the silo, requires a 
good force of hands, and all arrangements perfect, if economy is 
to be considered. 

OPENING THE SILO, 

The silo was opened November 29th, by throwing out the stone 

resting on four of the plank at the end farthest from the barn and 

removing them. The clover under the plank was partly decayed 

for about half an inch down, and below this it was mouldy for 

two or three inches. Close to the walls all the clover was more or 

less mouldy. As before stated the clover layer was about a foot 

thick resting on the corn. The whole of it looked so inferior that 

I had it thrown out of the door at the end of the silo upon the 

ground below. Here it remained for several days, receiving no 

thought except that it was so much lost clover, and that as soon 

as the teamster had a spare hour it should go to the manure heap. 

By using a hay knife one could cut down through the ensilage, 

li making a straight wall on the uncovered side. The fodder corn 

was in fine order from the top, though dryer than I had supposed 

it would be. As we dug deeper it became more and more moist, 

I but not so wet a? to drip water. Tnis, as all ensilage, is of a 

I brown color and has the characteristic odor and taste. 

Upon offering the ensilage to the farm cows, three out of the 
twelve refused to eat it. Those that ate seemed puzzled over it, 



and showed plainly by their cautious mincing manner that they 
could not quite understand what it was. Those that refused it 
entirely at first soon fell to tasting it, and after four or five feeds 
they all ate it as naturally as hay. 

Four or five days after the clover had been thrown out of the 
silo, I noticed that the cows when passing that way stopped and 
fed upon it. Scarcely believing then that they would eat much of 
it, we tried it in their mangers, and found that they ate it greedily ; 
they even ate much of that which was musty, so that but a few 
forkfuls remained. 

The ensilage is taken from the silo by means of a large box 
provided with an iron bail and a bottom made of two doors, which 
open from the middle outwards and letting the ensilage drop. 
Eunning along under the peak of the roof over the silo is a track 
such as is used for the horse hay fork carrier. Upon this are the 
same carrier and attachments that are used with the hay fork in 
summer. When the box is filled, a horse is hitched to the rope 
running outside the silo, the loa i is raised to the ridge track, 
along which the carrier takes it to the outside of the building, 
where the doors of the box are opened, and the ensilage is dropped 
into a shute, from whence it drops into a car and is taken to the 
stock barn near by. I do not claim anything peculiarly econom- 
ical in this arrangement, but urge upon those who think of build- 
ing a silo to plan most carefully to avoid the necessity of handling 
the ensilage often, or carrying it far. It is bulky food, and 
whether or no it is profitable must depend largely upon how 
economically it can be handled. 

It was planned to feed ensilage along with fodder corn cut from 
the same lot and thus find the comparative values of the two, but 
the rainy fall so spoiled the fodder corn that this project has been 
abandoned and the trial is now between meadow hay and ensilage. 
Two milch cows are being fed ensilage, and two others hay, both 
lots having all they wish to eat. Beside this they have equal 
quantities of bran and oil meal. At this writing, the experiment 
has been in progress but a few days, but now seems to indicate 
that more milk will be obtained from the ensilage than from the 
bay. 



G9 



A SIMPLE SILO. 



A little way from the farm barns near a railroad cut, a hole was 
dug in the ground, having each of its measurements eight feet. 
The spot was chosen near the railroad cut to secure good drain- 
age, as most of the land about the farm buildings is low. The 
soil was compact and gravelly. Into this hole, green clover di- 
rectly from the field was thrown, and tramped down as closely as 
possible ; the hole was filled, and clover added until it formed a 
mound rising above the level of the ground. Upon this, straw 
was [placed and a few short boards, and then part of the earth 
taken from the pit was thrown back upon it, making a mound as 
is often done in burying roots for winter. In a day or two, the 
weight of the earth had pressed everything below the level of the 
ground. Earth was again heaped up, and in a few days the pro- 
cess was repeated. At length, when about two-thirds of the earth 
had been thrown back, the settling ceased and the earth over the 
clover was on a level with the surface of the ground. Of course 
this brought a great pressure to bear upon the clover, but the fall 
was so extremely wet that since I had placed no protection of any 
sort over the spot, I supposed the clover had spoiled. A few 
days since, the hole was opened and the clover came out in per- 
fect condition. Cows eat it greedily. It is very moist and has 
not lost all of its natural color. 

It should be under.stood that there was no protection of any 
kind to the bottom or sides of this miniature silo, and only a little 
straw and a few boards on top of the clover, besides the earth. 
Burying a green hay crop in this way is of course not a practica- 
ble method, but for those who wish to test ensilage in a small way, 
it is not a bad experiment. It shows, also, how those living 
where the subsoil is very compact, could make a silo with either 
very light walls or none at all. 



70 



EXPENDITURES FOR AMBER CANE AND ENSILAGE 
EXPERIMENTS. 

The following is an itemized statement of all expenses incurred 
and moneys expended to date; as shown by the books of the sec- 
retary of state, with whom the vouchers are deposited. 

W. A. HENRY. 



April 


26 


May 


4 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


17 


June 


23 


June 


23 


June 


23 



June 23 
Juue 23 
June 23 
June 23 
June 23 
June 23 
June 23 
June 23 
June 23 

June 23 

June 23 
June 23 
June 23 
June 23 
June 23 



To DeDQOcrat Printing Co. — 

3,000 twelve-page pamphlets. . . . 

To Cuarles H Besley ct Co. — 
75 ft. 3-6 brass rod, at .08 

To Crane Bros Manufacturing Co.- 

1 2in. union 

2 3;|in. globe valves, at $1.30 . . . 

1 3^-in. union 

2 i^-in. globe valves, at .95 

1 %-m. union 

4 i3^-in. globe valves, at $3.60... 

1 lif-in. tee 

2 J^-in. globe valves, at .95 , 

1 3^-in. cross 

3 l>^-in. ells, at .32 , 

4 13^-in. tees, at .40 



40 per cent 



40 ?8'-in. by 1,^4-in. machine bolts. 
CO per cent 



50i'2 lbs. copper for coil, at .36 

53 hours' lubor making coil, at .50 — 
1}4 lbs. 1J4 heavy brass tubing, at .45 



box and cartage 

draft 

To W.J. Rohrbeck — 

2 nests lipp. beakers, 6-in. nest, 1 — 16, at 

$1.10.. 

2 nests do., 4-in nests, 1 — 8, at . 621^ 

2 nest beakers, 12in., nest No. CO to 10 . . . 

3 doz. Bohem. flasks, flat-bottom, 8 oz. at $1.50 
3^2 dcz. Bohem. flasks, flat bottom, 16 oz. . 
1 analyt. funnel, 332 oz 

1 Ribl. funcel,3 oz 

2 plain funnels, lO-in., at 35 

2 plain funnels, 5-6 in. at .25 

6 each W. tubes 5% and 10-in 

6 Liebig's calc. chlor. tubes 

2 Burettes W. Geiseler's stopcock, 50-in 

1-lOc'c' 

2 Burettes W. Geiseler's stopcock. 100-in, 

1-5 c'c' 

2 Mohr's burettes 50-in. 1-5 c'c' 

2 Mohr's burrettes, 100-inch 1-5 c'c' 

2 Bink's burettes, 1 each, .25 and .50 

2 gradual, pipettes, 1 eacli, 10 and 20 c'c'. . . 
2 Yolum. pipettes, 1 each, 10 and 20 c'c . . . . 



$0 72 

2 CO 
19 

1 90 

23 

14 40 

40 

1 90 
10 
96 

1 60 

$25 00 
10 00 

$1 44 
86 

$18 18 
26 50 

3 38 



$2 20 



25 
00 
50 
13 
00 
75 
70 
50 

4 05 
90 

5 00 



71 



To "W. J. Rolirbeck — continued. 

12 conic precip. jars 

2 hydrometer jars, 10 in 

2 calc. chloride jars, 12xli^ in., $1.25.. 

4 Pel igots nitrogen tubes 

2 Will, and Varren'r. tubes 

24 combustion tubes, 8 in., at .30 

6 brass corkborers , 

2 graduat. cylinders, 500 cc' 

2 graduat. cylinders, 300 cc' 

2 graduat. cylinders, 100 cc' 

4 Marchand's lactobutyrometers 

2 per cent, saccharometers 

2 Baume's saccharometers 

1 lactometer 

2 chemic. thermom., C. scale on paper . 
2 chemic. thermom., C. scale on milk- 

() plain Bun's gaslamps 

1 upright Fletcher's gas blowpipe 

1 gas combus. furnace, 15 burners 

2 porcelain casseroles, 4 oz , at .40 

2 porcelain casseroles, 12 oz , at .80 

1 porcelain casserole, 20 f z., 

4 platin. capsules, l^^ diam., at $5 

1 crucible, l^gxl 5-lG inches 

1 combus. boac 

3 fresen. desiccators, at $1.75 

2 cases and packing (i^ charges). ... .. 

1 Bun's gaslamp, with 3 tubes 

- draft 

To Crane Eros. Manuf 'g Co. — 

4 pieces % blk. tin pipe, 7 lbs., at .36. . 
box 



Less overpay on last account. 



To W. A. Henry — 

stationery and postage 

To W. J. Rohrbeck — 

analyt. balance, 200 grms., cap. w., 

knife edges and bearings of agate, etc. 
1 set gramme weights, 200 grms., from 100 

grms. down 

4 globul. stopper funnels, w. Geiseler's stop 

cock, at $1.25 

24 large velvet corks, 5-20 to 35 in 

case, packing, etc , 3^3 charges 



less express freight charges to Madison. . . 



express 



To J. P. Lightbody — 

labor in month of May on cane machinery. 

5 days, 7 hours, at $2.50 per day 

labor in June, 15 days, 3 hours, at $2.50 pei 

day 



$3 00 


75 


2 50 


1 25 


75 


7 20 


1 50 


3 00 


2 50 


2 00 


2 50 


1 60 


1 20 


50 


1 50 


3 00 


3 00 


3 50 


23 00 


80 


1 60 


1 25 


20 00 


9 00 


3 50 


5 25 


2 00 


1 75 


50 


$3 52 


25 


$3 77 


25 


100 00 


12 50 


5 00 


75 


1 50 


1119 75 


3 50 


$116 25 


6 05 


14 25 


38 75 



$154 13 



2 53 
25 00 



122 30 



53 00 



72 



July 25 
July 25 
July 25 



July 25 



July 


28 


July 


28 


July 


28 


July 


28 


July 


1 


July 


1 


July 


1 


July 


1 


July 


1 


July 


1 


Julv 


1 


July 


1 


July 


1 


Aug. 


1 


Aug. 


1 


Aug. 


1 


Aug. 


1 


Aug. 


1 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


2 


Aug. 


3 


Aug. 


'6 


Aug. 


3 


Aug. 


8 


Aug. 


3 



To W. J. Rohrbeck — 

1 iron hand press, 1 qrt. cap. 
less 10 per cent 



puorimzets. 



off amount overpaid on last bill paid. 



$4 50 

45 

H 05 
50 



To T. P. Joyce — 

Labor removing boiler out of building, 
painting and loading, also work on box 
and loading the same, 50 hours at 50 cents 
per hour 

material for box 

cartage 



To C. W. Heyl — 

2 square pans of galvanized iron , 

2 copper cylinders 

couplings, faucets, and work on cylinders. 

galvanized iron, can for cooler, laucet 

lining vacuum pan, 47 pounds copper 

work on vacuum pan, worm and coupling. 

copper kettle 

4 milk pans, funnel, pint measure 



$4 55 
50 



$25 00 
2 50 
2 00 



.$19 60 

14 95 
17 75 

3 85 

15 05 
28 00 

5 50 
90 



To W. A. Henry — 

Freight on steam boiler from Janesville, 
and cartage 



To Kent & Lawrence — 

1 steam boiler 

1 centrifugal machine. 



To Warnes & Swenson — 

1,266 ft. common boards, at $15. 

712 ft. stock boards, at $20 

636 ft. 2 by 4 studding, at $15. . 

168 It. 4 by 4 sills, at $15 

252 ft. 2. by 6 joist, at $15 

5,000 shingles, at $3.50 

80 lbs. nails, at .04 

20 lbs. Bails, at .05 

240 It. ogee battens, at $30 

16 ft. ridge-boards, at .$20 

80 ft. flooring, at $30 

4 g. sash, at .60 

hardware 

10)^ days' labor, at $2.50 , 



To J. P. Lightbody — 

labor on cane machinery for month of July, 

20 days, 23^ hours, at $2.50 per day 

To Madison Manufacturing Company — 

one-half cost of flask for vacuum pan 

15 lbs. l^^a round iron, at .05 

393 lbs. vacuum pan casting, at .06 

53 lbs. castings, at .05 



$2 50 


25 


$18 99 


14 24 


9 54 


2 52 


3 78 


17 50 


3 20 


1 00 


7 20 


32 


2 40 


2 40 


1 47 


26 25 



.?3 50 

75 

23 58 

2 65 



73 



Aug. 3 

Aug. 3 

Aug. 3 

Aug. 3 

5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 

Aug. 6 
Aug. 6 
Aug. 6 

Aug. 12 
Auar. 12 
Aug. 22 
Aug. 22 
Aug. 23 
Aug. 23 
Aug. 23 
Aug. 23 

Aug. 26 
Aug. 26 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 
Aug. 27 

Aug. 30 
Aug. 30 
Aug. 30 
Aug. 80 

Aug. 81 
Aug. 31 
Aug. 31 



Aug. 81 



Aug. 31 
Aug. 31 
Aug. 81 
Aug. 31 



To Wm. Cory — 

33 lbs. brass, at .14. . , 
20 lbs. brass, at A2}^. 
28 lbs. copper, at .15"., 



To Hollister's Pharmacy- 
7 lbs. ether, at .80...'. 
2 bottles 



express 

3^2 lb. cause potash. 

1 lb. R. salts 

1 bot. elher 



To D. Goldenburger - 
1 second-hand tub 
1 new made tub. . . 



To Joseph Lister — 

IGO lbs. bone charcoal. . . . 
To Prof. W. A. Henry — 

freight on ensilage cutter 
ToS. Williams — 

26 bus. lime 

26 bus. lime 

18 bus. lime 



To Alex. H. Main, Ins. Agt. — 

insurance on Amber cane machinery 
To Schmidtz & Kienar — 

21 cords of stone, at $2.50 

To Warnes & Swenson — 

700 ft. com. boards, at $15.00 

500 ft. stock boards, at $20.00 

1,138 ft. 2 by 10 plank, at $15,00 

144 ft. 2 by 6 studding, at $15.00 

644 ft. 2 by 4 studding, at $15.00 

32 ft. ridgeboards, at $20.00 

5I4 M shingles, at $3.50 

55 lbs nails, at .04 

20 lbs. uails, at .05 

46 ft. scantling, at $15 00 

932' days' work, at $2 50 

42 ft. flooring, at $30.00 

6 days' work, at $2.50 



To Esser & Oakey — 

25 days' mason's labor, at $3.00. 

12 days' laborer, at $1.75 

320 white brick 



To Madison City Gas Light & Coke Co.- 
gas consumed, 200 cu. ft., at $4.50. . . . 
rent of meter 



$4 62 
2 50 
4 20 




P2 00 
5 00 



Less discount when paid before 10th of mo. 



12 ft. lifin. pipe, at .13. 

1 13^-in. elbow 

1 IJ^-in. brass stop cock 
1 wooden stop box 



$7 28 
7 28 
5 04 



$10 50 
10 00 

17 07 
2 16 
9 66 

64 

18 38 
2 20 
1 00 

69 

23 75 

1 26 

15 00 



$75 00 

21 00 

2 90 



$0 90 
25 




$11 32 



8 22 



7 00 
3 85 



6 27 



19 60 
33 30 
52 50 



112 31 



98 



74 



Aug. 31 
Aug. 31 
Aug. 31 



Sept. 2 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 



To Madison City Gas L'ght & Coke Co. 

18 hours' labor, at .15 

18 hours' labor, at .25 



Sept. - 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Sept. 3 

Se])t. 3 

Sept. 3 



To Democrat Printing Co. — 

400 postal cards, and printing , 

To Thomas Regan — 

2 -^3 check valves, at .55 

1 oil cup, $1.25. and 1 % lee, at .15 

2 3jj' steam cocks 

1 piece gas pipe 

G ft. % cal. pipe, at .lljg 

5 % return bends, at .19 

I 1 by 34 elbow, at .09 

II p4 return bends, at .19 

telegraph charges, .45; express, .50 

16f;i ft. ^ pipe, at .08 

1 P4 bushing, .7; 1 3a bushing, .6 

2 % elbows, .09; 2 % tees, at .12 

15,V ft. % pip", at .08 

1 3.1 union, .20; 1 l-inch tee, .19 , 

1 ^i tee, at . 13 

100 ft. % pipe, at .08 , 

3 11^ tee, at . 19 ; 7 % tee, at . 12 

4 ^4 union, at .20 

2 3^' elbows, at .09 

163.{ ft. % pipe, at .08; 3 ^i elbows, at .09.. 
242.,' ft. \]4 pipe, at .27; 3 li.< tees, at .33. . 

1 11^ elbow, .30; 2 84 elbows, at .09 

1 11-^ bushing, .10; 1 1)^ bushing, at .10.. 

labor cutting 

7 ?4 globe valves ; 1 % glass tube 

9 hours for two putting in water pipe 

17 ft. 1.; pipe, at .07 

3 '^i unions, at .20; 3 J^ elbows, at .06 

1 1-inch plug, at .06; 1 % nipple, at .7 

95-3 ft. l-inch pipe, at .113^^ 

1 1 by % elbow, .09 ; 1 ^i tee, at . 13 

2 % globe valves, at $1 00 

16};j ft. l-inch pipe, at . lli^ 

1 H elbow, .06 ; 1 '^l check valve, .55 

4 % elbow, at .09 ; 1 % tee, at . 13 

2 reducing couplings, 1 by 3^, at .15 

4 % unions, at .20; 6 ft. 1.,' pipe, at .07... 

4334' ft. 3^ pipe, at .08. ..." ." 

434 elbows, .09; 1 % tee, .12; 1 J^ elbow, .06 
25 ft. 1 in. rubber pipe, at .27 

3 ft. 3^ pipe, 51^ ; 4 3{ elbows, at .09 

1 3^ reducer, at". 10; 1 ^.j coupling, at .05.. 

1 % globe valve 

1 i-inch globe valve 

150 ft. gas pipe, at .13. 

4 pillar cocks, at .30 

5 nipples, at .05; 1 3,, plug^ at .05 

4 burners, at .15 ; 1 pr. meter connections, % 

1 l-inch stop cock 

1 Jo reducing coupling, .20; 1 }^ elbow, .20 

1)2 <^Iays for laborer, at %\ 50. 

232 days for man and helper, at $4 50 

1 '( bibb cock for water pipe 

1 U tee, . 12 ; 3 straps. .05 

1 li coupling, .05; 1 % nipple, .05 




$1 10 



1 



40 

20 

15 

69 

95 

09 

09 

95 

35 

13 

42 

24 

39 

12 

8 00 

1 41 

80 

18 

1 51 

7 65 

48 

20 

1 00 

7 30 

4 05 

1 19 

73 

13 

11 00 

31 

3 00 

1 82 

61 

48 

39 

1 22 
3 50 

54 

6 75 

53 

15 

00 

20 

00 

20 

30 

60 

25 

40 

3 25 

11 35 

2 00 
17 
10 



75 



To Thomas Regan — continued. 

6 1^ elbows, at .06; 1 3^ globe>alve, .85 

1 pillar cock 

60 ft. l-inch pipe. at. lli^ 

3 1-inch elbows, at .09.T 

50 ft. 1.; pipe, at .07 

1 i^tee 

2 days for man and helper, at $4.50 

labor for makinsr coil 

8 ft. ^i pipe, at .08 

1 1-iuch reducing coupling 

1 1-inch bushing 

Cr. by 15 ru rubber pipe, at .27 



To Prof. W. A. Henry — 

Pay roll of men employed in putting in en 
sila;;e: 

John Camp, 5% (iays, at $1 50 

H. Halbersleben, 6 days, at $1.75 

John B. Smith, (j^., davs, at $1.50 

Frederick Smith. 4I3 days, at $1.50. . .■ . . . 

Henry Csesar, 3I4 days, at $1.50 

John Kelly. 2'*,£ days, at $1.50 

M. Xolan, 1 day, at $1.75 

F. Duftee, 1 day, at $1.75 

H. Fichten, teaming, 3 nays, at $3.00 

M. Foley, 1 Oay, at $3.00 

Louis RosHU, 5 days, at $1.50 

Ambrose Romyce, 5 days, at $150 



$1 21 

30 

6 90 

27 

3 50 
09 

9 00 

10 00 

04 

10 

08 

$151 81 

4 23 




















"$i47'58 



$8 25 
10 50 
9 75 
6 25 
4 87 
4 12 
1 75 
1 75 

6 00 
3 00 

7 50 
7 50 



To J. P. Lightbody — 

Labor in August, 11 days, 9 hours, at $3.50 
To W A. Henry — 

To cash paid Jo' n Wasler for work putting 

in ensilage, 2 days, at $1.50 

To Magnus Swenson — 

To services in Amber cane experiments from 
June 1 to September 1, 1881, 3 months, at 

$100 per month 

To Conkling & Co.— 

10 barrels Milwaukee cement, at $2.00 

1 barrel Milwaukee cement, at $'i.00 

2 barrels Milwaukee cement, at $3.00 



To D. W. Brittan — 

20 5-gallou syrup kegs, at .30 

To New York Plow Co — 

1 ensilage cutter 

To Frank tt Rimsay — 

12 lbs. 2xK iron, at .03i^ 

2 K)3. -i% nuts at .121^ 

1 bull's-eye lantern 

1 padlock 

3I4 strap binges, at .10 

60 flashings, at .02. 

3 lbs. 6peuny wrought nails, at .08. 
14 lbs. nails, at .04 

1 well-wheel hook 

1 eye bolt 



$20 00 
2 00 
4 00 



$0 42 
25 

1 00 
65 
33 

1 20 
24 
56 
13 
15 



71 74 

29 75 



00 



300 00 



26 CO 
6 00 

75 00 



7a 



Sept. 


19 


Sept. 


19 


Sept. 


19 


Sept. 


19 


Sept. 


19 


Sept. 


19 


Sept. 


19 


Sept. 


19 


Sept. 


19 


Sept. 


19 


Sept. 


19 


Sept. 


22 


Sept. 


22 


Oct. 


1 


Oct. 


1 


Oct. 


10 


Oct. 


10 


Oct. 


10 


Oct. 


12 


Oct. 


12 


Oct. 


15 


Oct. 


15 


Oct. 


18 


Oct. 


18 


Oct. 


21 


Oct. 


21 


Oct. 


21 


Oct. 


21 


Oct. 


21 


Oct. 


21 


Oct. 


21 


Oct. 


21 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct, 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


20 


Oct. 


22 


Oct. 


22 


Oct. 


22 


Oct. 


22 


Oct. 


22 



To Frank & Ramsay — continued. 

6 lbs. 20 penny nails, at .04 

1 piece hoop iron 

1 wrench 

1 hammer 

2 taper tiles, double ends, at .20, 

1 file 

1 '^s brass faucet 

1 pair strap hinges 

1 hook and staple . 

emery paper 



To M. Swenson — 

cash paid for barrels. 
To W.J. Rohrbeck — 

glass apparatus 

To HoUister's Pharmacy 

copper and lead . . 

barium and alum 



To 



To 
To 



To 



Joseph Lister — 

2 packages bone charcoal, net 300 lbs., at 

!f3.85 per 100 lbs 

P. W. Holt — 

99 hours' labor at mill at .15 per hour 

A. B. Burr — 

192 hours' work at mill, at .15 per hour 

Madison Manufacturing Co. — 

8 lbs. wrought iron, at .05 

55 lbs. wrought iron, at .05 

24 ft. 2-in. rubber belting, at .\2% 

2 hours' forging, at .75 ". 

2 sorgho skimmers, at .35 

5)^ lbs. casting, at .05 

6 ij-in. bolts, at. 10 



!f0 24 
05 

1 25 
85 
40 
60 

1 50 
20 
05 
15 



16 75 
4 50 



To W. A. Henry — 

cash paid for 6 jointed rods, at .25 

G. Miiman, work on ensilage 

M. Folley, work on ensilage. . .. .. 

telegraphing for ensilage cutter. . . 



To Magnus Swenson — 

cash paid for 4 yards muslin, at .9 
2 yards cotton flannel, at .I2I2'. . . 

1 pair scissors 

10 yards cotton cloth, at .04 

1 yard linen 

express on charcoal 

expenses to Janesville 

lime 

gallon measure ... 

lime 

1 pail, 1 qt 

1 pail, 4 qt 



To W. A. Henry — 

cash paid on freight and express bills for 
packages used in Amber cane experiments 
To J. N. Wilcox — 

231 hours' labor at cane mill, at .15 



$0 40 

2 75 

3 00 
1 50 

70 
28 
60 



n 50 

4 90 
6 00 
1 01) 



$0 36 
25 
50 
40 
65 
50 
3 70 
55 
50 
30 
15 
40 



$10 21 

10 00 

3 00 



11 25 

11 55 
14 85 

28 80 



9 23 



13 40 



10 26 

8 44 
34 65 



77 



Oct. 23 

Oct. 22 

Oct. 22 

Oct. 22 

Oct. 22 

Oct. 22 

Oct. 22 

Oct. 22 

Oct. 31 

Oct. 31 

Oct. 31 

Oct. 3L 

Oct. 31 

Oct. 31 

Oct. 31 

Oct. 31 

Oct. 31 

Oct. 31 

Oct. 31 

Oct. 31 

Oct. 31 



Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 



Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 



Nov. 7 
Nov. 7 
Nov. 7 

Oct. 23 
Oct. 23 

Nov. 10 



Nov. 16 



Nov. 25 
Nov. 25 

Nov. 28 
Nov. 28 



To J. F. Bruce & Bro.— 

2 barrels 

1 tub 

1 pail 

1 keg 

1 tub 

2 pails 

1 barrel 



To S. L. Sheldon — 

1 30-iucli pulley 

b ^xe3 

shaft 

wood work and bolt for jack ... 

1 day, 2 men 

30 ft. rubber belting, less i;;' 

3 2d h. tumbling rods, ^o price. 
3 couplings, % price 

2 newT. R. blocks 

1 pulley for cutter 

drayage 

% day, 2 men setting up 



To H. G. Kronke — 

1 stove 

11 joints pipe . . . 

2 elbows 

zinc 

coal hod 



To W. A.. Henry — 

cash paid fur cane seed 

cash paid for telegrams and express charges. 



To Magnus Swenson — 

cash paid for 1 torrent steam pump, steam 

gauge and 1 old glass gauge 

To Democrat Printing Co. — 

2,0[)0 circulars, 3Q0 government 3 cent 
stamped envelopes, 300 XXX No. Q}4, en- 
velopes 

To W. J. Rohrbeck — 

1 platin. capsule, 3 inch diam. wt. 39 grras. 

at . 43 per grm 

4 vol. pipette, 3 each 5 and lOcc . . i?l 00 
3 lbs. C. P. Rochelle salt 3 75 



less 10 per cent 
packing 



$4 75 
47 



To Joseph Lister — 

3 packasres bone charcoal, net, 541 lbs., at 

$3 85 per 100 lbs 

To C. I. King — 

use of tools in constructing sugar cane 

apparatus 

To Democrat Printing Co. — 

1 M i^ sheet circulars 

To Bunker & Vroman — 

310 ft. plank, at $15 00 



$3 CO 


85 


25 


75 


85 


50 


35 


i?15 00 


3 00 


2 50 


1 50 


5 00 


11 80 


6 00 


3 00 


1 50 


3 75 


1 50 


3 00 


ifse 00 


5 50 


50 


1 00 


85 


$2 00 


1 80 



$16 38 



4 28 
23 



$5 55 



57 55 



33 85 



3 80 



18 00 



18 00 



20 88 

20 83 

30 00 
5 00 
5 10 



78 



Dec. 14 

Dec. 14 

Dec. 14 

Dec. 14 

Dec. 15 

Dec. 15 

Dec. 15 

Dec. 15 

Dec. 15 

Dec. 15 

Dec. 27 

Dec. 27 

Dec. 28 

Dec. 28 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. SO 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 80 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 



Dec. 30 



Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 

Dec. 30 



To J.N. Wilc(.x — 

labor in October, 276 hours, at .15. . 
labor in November, 96 hours, at .15. 
labor in December, 4 hours, at .15. . 



To HoUister's Pharmacy — 

1 lb carb. lime 

1 gross qaini"e bottles 

1 gross 4 oz. U. ovals 

1 gross corks for quin. bottles 
1 gross corks 



To Magnus Swenson — 

salary as chemist fr cm Sept. 1, 1881, to Jan 

1,1882 

To John Kempf — 

391 hours labor, at .15 per hour 

To Democrat Printing Co. — 

200 labels for sugar boxes 

To Magnus Swenson — 

express charges 

expenses to Janesville 

stationery 



To C. W. Heyl — 

smoke-stack, 82% lbs 

2 covered pails and piece of iron. 

galv. iron tank, 42 lbs 

dipper and scoop 

2 copper boxes, shelf and stand.. . 
76 tin boxes 



To W. A. Henry — 

postage on circulars . . . . , 
To W. A. Henry — 

cash paid for 200 cu. ft. 
1,000 

rent of meter 



gas, at $4.50 per 



discount. 



expressage 
expressage 
2 barrels . . 
freight 



Total expense to date. 



Ml 40 

14 40 

60 



$0 80 
2 40 
1 13 



$10 25 

75 
8 40 

40 

10 50 

7 60 



$0 90 
25 

•n 15 
20 

$0 95 

40 

25 

2 00 

1 89 



$56 40 



$14 50 

400 OO 

58 65 

2 00 

"433 



37 90 
14 14 



•' 5 4» 

I 

$3,080 07 



***s 



RARY OF CONGRESS 



< -*!• 

i 




